During a chat with Yang Kai, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao mentioned that Xiang Shan had come up with a strategy for the Great Evolution Army shortly after they departed from Wind and Cloud Pass.
In short, they had to beat the Black Ink Clan to a half-dead state before occupying Great Evolution Pass. That way, they would have ample time to recuperate and restore the Great Evolution Pass. If they managed to reoccupy Great Evolution Pass but didn’t have time to make it operational again, what could they do to protect themselves if the Black Ink Clan decided to start a war with them all of a sudden?
After 100 years of effort, the fall of numerous Eighth-Order Division Commanders, and the deaths of many Seventh-Order, Sixth-Order, and Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, they finally managed to achieve this first objective.
Now, the goal that Xiang Shan had set had been achieved, so their next step would be to retake the Great Evolution Pass.
That was the very reason that the Great Evolution Army was founded.
After returning to the forward base, the Humans started getting some rest; however, it wasn’t possible for the Black Ink Clan to do so, especially the Royal Lord. The moment he realised that the opponent he had dealt with for over 100 years had been deceiving him this entire time, there was no way he could quietly recuperate inside his Black Ink Nest with peace of mind.
That was because he couldn’t be certain about how well the Old Ancestor had recovered or whether she would launch another attack on the Royal City again in short order.
In order to prevent such an incident from happening, he had to remain awake on alert at all times.
In this situation, he couldn’t fall into a state of slumber to recover and could only rely on the Black Ink Nest’s power to slowly heal his wounds. However, this kind of recuperation was significantly less efficient than falling unconscious inside the Black Ink Nest would be.
If he could sleep inside his Black Ink Nest, he would fully recover within a couple hundred years; however, given his current situation, he still wouldn’t be fully healed after 1,000 years.
The Old Ancestor had indeed put him in a tight spot.
The East-West Army had returned to their forward base, but this time, they didn’t have much time to recuperate.
The leaders had given an order that they could only remain in the forward base for 10 days before they would set off to Great Evolution Pass and join up with the North-South Army who had been keeping the Black Ink Clan Army over there at bay. They had to get prepared for the final battle to retake Great Evolution Pass.
The soldiers had been waiting for this day for over 100 years.
The moment they joined the Great Evolution Army, everyone thought that they would clash with the Black Ink Clan at Great Evolution Pass when they arrived at the Great Evolution Theatre. They had the confidence that they would engage in a life-and-death struggle and eventually come out the winners; however, as soon as the East-West Army arrived, they directly headed to the Royal City and went on to clash with the Black Ink Clan there for nearly 150 years.
With that said, the outcome of the war proved that the Army Commanders had made the right decision.
Now, the East-West Army had beaten the Black Ink Clan in the Royal City to a pulp, so it would be far easier for them to retake Great Evolution Pass.
It would take them at least a month to arrive at Great Evolution Pass, which was why after such a vicious battle the soldiers were given ten days to get some rest and recover.
Otherwise, the higher-ups would have ordered the East-West Army to immediately set sail for Great Evolution Pass after retreating from the Royal City.
While the soldiers were recuperating, they were also reorganising themselves.
When they departed from Wind and Cloud Pass, there were 30,000 soldiers and 60 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. There were a lot of powerful Masters on their side; however, after 150 years of war, only 20,000 of them were still alive. 10,000 of them had been killed outside the Royal City, most of the time without leaving a corpse behind.
About 10 Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had also lost their lives.
That was the result of the East-West Army focusing on defence in every battle. If they were set on attacking the enemy without defending themselves, there would have been far more casualties.
Although some Humans would be killed in each battle, the number of casualties on the Black Ink Clan’s side would always be dozens of times more than that of the Humans.
Every Squad had suffered some losses, with some of them having been wiped out entirely; therefore, it was necessary to do some reorganisation. Otherwise, they couldn’t ensure that every Squad could operate effectively.
They had experienced this kind of reorganisation twice in the past.
However, the previous two personnel shuffles had nothing to do with Dawn. Dawn was significantly more powerful than an ordinary Squad, and Yang Kai was especially outstanding, able to kill Feudal Lords in one move. Therefore, even in pitched battles, Dawn had always suffered very minimal losses.
In this regard, even the Old Turtle Squad, which always emphasised defence, was no match for Dawn. During the second reorganisation, the Old Turtles had been forced to recruit several new members.
In the past, none of the members of Dawn were killed, but this time was different.
The battle that had just ended was completely different from the ones in the past when it came to its level of danger and intensity. Although Yang Kai had killed many enemies, he couldn’t ensure everyone’s safety on the chaotic battlefield.
Ning Qi Zhi was badly injured, while Qi Tai Chu had lost his life.
Qi Tai Chu was the first member of Dawn to be killed in battle against the Black Ink Clan since the Special Operations Squad’s founding. He was also a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master.
Qi Tai Chu was one of the original members of Dawn. Back then, Yang Kai was the one who brought him back from the Black Ink Clan’s territory. When Dawn was established, Yang Kai selected him to be one of the members. Over the years, they had experienced countless life-and-death moments together, so Qi Tai Chu had become an indispensable part of Dawn.
His death made Yang Kai feel heartbroken, and none of Dawn’s members were in the mood to celebrate their recent victory. Some of the female members were extremely sorrowful.
Qi Tai Chu was an experienced Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. He was a mild-tempered person who never hid any secrets when it came to his knowledge of cultivation with the Juniors. Whenever war broke out, he would always take good care of all the members.
It could be said that of all the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in Dawn, he was the most popular. One of the female Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters had wanted to become his Dao Partner, but he pretended to know nothing because he was a Senior to her.
Although they knew that death was part and parcel of life, they still couldn’t help but feel downcast when someone close to them passed away.
Qi Tai Chu was the only member of Dawn who was killed. The Fifth-Order and Sixth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were all fine. Dawning Light’s powerful defence and mobility ensured everyone’s safety in every war. If there came a day when Dawning Light was destroyed, all of them would likely lose their lives.
At this moment, a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from the Purifying Black Ink Battleship was standing in front of Yang Kai as he said, “Please have a look at this list, Brother Yang. Just tell me if you need any new members.”
The Commanders were the ones who made most of the arrangements; however, considering the fact that the soldiers might have friends they would like to fight alongside with, such a list was produced. The Squad Leaders were entitled to select new members first. If the Squad Leaders didn’t select anyone, the Division Commanders would make the decisions for them.
After taking the list, Yang Kai took a brief look at it and said, “Only one member of Dawn was killed this time. It doesn’t really affect our collective power, so we don’t really need any new members. Please take this list to the other Squads.”
The Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master smiled and nodded, “The members of Dawn are lucky to have your protection.”
This Seventh-Order Master was the adjutant who visited every Squad Leader with the list whenever there was a reorganisation in the past, but it was the first time he came to see Yang Kai.
In other words, it was the first time there was a casualty in Dawn over the course of 150 years of war.
There was no doubt that the members of Dawn were all elites, but it also had something to do with the fact that Yang Kai was abnormally powerful. This man had earned his respect.
No other Squads in the East-West Army were like Dawn, and no one was clearer than him about this because he was always the one who delivered this list, so he was fully aware of the number of casualties in each Squad.
Yang Kai shook his head. Just when he was about to pass the list back to him, he halted for a moment and asked, “Can I select anyone from this list?”
The person nodded, “The Army Commanders have ordered that the people on the list can be selected by the elite Squads first. Squad Leaders like you can select anyone from the list. You can select several people as long as it doesn’t exceed the limit of your Squad.”
Then, he asked curiously, “Have you changed your mind, Brother Yang?”
Without saying anything, Yang Kai activated his Divine Sense and left some marks in the jade slip. Then, he passed it back to him and said, “I want these three people.”
After taking the jade slip, the man looked into it and nodded, “There are always fewer than 50 people in Dawn. Including these three people now, your Squad has exactly 50 people. Good, I’ll go to the next Squad now.”
Then, he cupped his fist and left.
After he was gone, Yang Kai turned to look at Feng Ying, “I’ll be right back.”
Feng Ying nodded.
Yang Kai then released his Divine Sense. A moment later, he dashed forward in a particular direction.
There was a severely damaged Warship on a barren piece of land. Sparks were seen flying in all directions as Artifact Refiners and Array Masters were busy repairing the Warship.
Every time the soldiers returned from the battlefield, Artifact Refiners and Array Masters would be swamped with work. That was because they were responsible for repairing the damaged Warships.
The state of this Warship showed how dangerous the previous battle was. Minced meat and blood were seen everywhere on the Warship. Most of it belonged to the Black Ink Clan, but some of it was from the Humans.
The Warship was in such a horrible state that it was practically irreparable. At this point, the Warship should have been salvaged for parts and materials as repairing it would be more costly than simply building a new one.
Three blood-soaked figures were standing near the Warship. They were just standing there in silence, which was in stark contrast to the Artifact Refiners and Array Masters, who were busy repairing the Warship.
The three of them were staring forward with hollow eyes and expressionless faces.
As a breeze whisked past, Yang Kai appeared beside them.
Yang Kai narrowed his eyes as he swept his gaze around. Although he knew that every battle with the Black Ink Clan was perilous, and some of the Squads would be completely wiped out, no one had energy to pay attention to such matters on the battlefield.
Now that they had returned from the battle, just by looking at this damaged Warship, Yang Kai could imagine the heroic figures who had fought and died together with it.
Although they had passed away, they had done the Humans proud.
The three people standing here were respectively Seventh-Order, Sixth-Order, and Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
After a moment of silence, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master suddenly said, “I’ve killed many disciples from the Cave Heavens and Paradises before.”
Yang Kai nodded gently, “I know.”
Back then, many disciples from the Cave Heavens and Paradises were indeed killed by Blood Crow. After that, he fled to the Shattered Heaven and managed to recruit a lot of subordinates. He had also made things difficult for the disciples from the Cave Heavens and Paradises on several occasions. During that period of time, he had killed many who were training in the Shattered Heaven.
It could be said that Blood Crow had many enmities with the Cave Heavens and Paradises.
“I didn’t willingly come to the Black Ink Battlefield. Compared to being imprisoned for life or simply being killed, I could only choose to come here. Although I have to deal with the Black Ink Clan, there was hope for me to survive. Therefore, when that old man from Bright King Cave Heaven asked me whether I wanted to live or die, I didn’t hesitate to decide that I would come to the Black Ink Battlefield.”
This was a sensible choice. Back then, Blood Crow was captured by Elder Fisherman from Bright King Cave Heaven in the Shattered Heaven and subsequently imprisoned in their Sect. Considering the fact that his cultivation and experience was hard to come by, it would be a shame to kill Blood Crow outright; therefore, he was given a chance to come to the Black Ink Battlefield.
The Black Ink Battlefield was unlike other places; here, the Humans only had one enemy, which was the Black Ink Clan. Grudges from the past would be put aside, and those from Bright King Heaven were not worried that Blood Crow would try to escape or betray them.
Other than doing his best to kill the enemy in order to stay alive, he had no choice.
“Yang Boy, you know that my years of effort all went to waste because of what you did back then, right?” Blow Crow suddenly turned to look at him, as though he was still displeased with the latter over what had happened in the past.
Yang Kai grinned, “If I hadn’t ruined your plan, I wouldn’t have become what I am today.”
Blood Crow slowly shook his head, “I suppose this is simply my fate. In my previous life, the Eighth-Order was my limit. I was unresigned when I was about to reach my predestined time of death, so I spent the rest of my life making special arrangements. If everything went well, I could’ve been reborn as someone with the potential to ascend to the Ninth Order. However, life is indeed full of uncertainties. Who would have thought that a freak like you would show up and wreck everything?”
Yang Kai tutted, “I will never overlook injustice and evil.”
Blood Crow nodded, “Whenever I see you, I have a strong urge to kill you. Likewise, whenever those disciples from the Cave Heavens and Paradises found fault with me, I never went easy on them. Their Blood Essence could help increase my cultivation anyway.”
The Great Evolution Indestructible Blood Light Scripture was a special Secret Art. Even though it bore the name ‘Great Evolution’, it had nothing to do with Great Evolution Paradise. Instead, it worked in similar ways as Wu Kuang’s Heaven Devouring Battle Law.
It could be said that these two Secret Arts were the most amazing ones Yang Kai had ever come across since he began cultivating.
However, in his opinion, the Great Evolution Indestructible Blood Light Scripture was still inferior to the Heaven Devouring Battle Law. Yang Kai had dabbled in both Secret Arts, so no one had a clearer understanding of these two than him in terms of their strengths and differences.
“I’m sure they were aware of my background and the grudges I had with the disciples of the Cave Heavens and Paradises in the past,” Blood Crow continued.
He was obviously talking about the members of his original Squad.
“Some of them gave me the cold shoulder. Some of them secretly dismissed me. There were also those who made things difficult for me and snatched my Military Merits,” Blood Crow spoke in a dispassionate tone. He was talking about his own affairs, but it was as though it had nothing to do with him, “But so what? I have my own ways of doing things, and it has nothing to do with others. If not for the unique environment of the Black Ink Battlefield, I wouldn’t have fought alongside these brats.”
Upon hearing that, the Sixth-Order and Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters beside him glowered.
Unfazed, Blood Crow lowered his gaze and continued, “What’s really laughable though, is that those who dismissed me and found fault with me were also the ones who sacrificed themselves to save my life. I survived, while almost all of them died.”
He turned to look at Yang Kai, “Don’t you think they’re foolish?”
Without waiting for Yang Kai’s response, he continued, saying, “They’re extremely foolish! They all cultivated for so many years to reach where they were. What was the point of all of that if they just threw their lives away in the end?”
Yang Kai replied in a calm manner, “They’re indeed foolish.”
“You think so too?” Blood Crow looked at him in surprise.
Yang Kai nodded, “Weren’t they foolish by sacrificing themselves for others?”
Blood Crow nodded in agreement. After a while, he asked, “Is this what you told me back then? On the battlefield, grudges of the past no longer matter, and we’re all Brothers and Sisters.”
Yang Kai smiled helplessly, “You’re older and more experienced than me. At one point, you were even stronger than me, so why even ask me this question?”
Hearing that, Blood Crow fell silent.
After standing there for a while more, Yang Kai said, “We’ll set off for Great Evolution Pass in 8 days, so get some rest now. We might need to fight the Black Ink Clan again when we arrive.”
Upon finishing his words, he turned around and left.
Meanwhile, aboard the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, Xiang Shan, Liu Zhi Ping, and the others had gathered together. The Old Ancestor was present as well for once.
Although she was wounded during the fight against the Royal Lord, her injuries weren’t severe. Considering the fact that the Army would leave for Great Evolution Pass soon, she didn’t find Yang Kai to spread out his Small Universe for her to recuperate.
One of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters spoke up, “We’ll set off for Great Evolution Pass in 8 days. I suppose the Army will be fully reorganised by then. Excluding the 3,000 Artifact Refiners, Array Masters, and Alchemists, we have 16,000 to 17,000 soldiers remaining. Things are not looking bright on the North-South Army’s side either. In order to stop the Black Ink Clansmen stationed at Great Evolution Pass from heading to the Royal City, they directly clashed with some 500,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers, and many of them died in battle. Although the Black Ink Clan forces over there are significantly weaker now, they still occupy Great Evolution Pass. They have been fortifying Great Evolution Pass for the past 30,000 years, so we must not underestimate them. I’m worried that it will be a tough fight to retake Great Evolution Pass.”
The other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters nodded with solemn expressions.
Although they already knew that there would be a lot of casualties when the Great Evolution Army was founded, it never crossed their minds that the most difficult and deadly problem would be retaking Great Evolution Pass.
While the Black Ink Clan soldiers from the Royal City were beaten to a half-dead state by the East-West Army, they still had to deal with those from Great Evolution Pass.
Upon hearing that, Liu Zhi Ping put on a smile, “Perhaps we can retrieve Great Evolution Pass without any losses.”
“Huh?” All the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were surprised to hear what she had said.
The person who spoke earlier asked anxiously, “What do you mean by that, Senior Sister Liu? Will the Black Ink Clansmen return Great Evolution Pass to us without a fight?”
Upon finishing his words, he became startled for a moment and fell into his thoughts.
Realising something, another Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master said, “That might be possible.”
The Humans were already aware that the Black Ink Clan could instantly relay information through their Black Ink Nests, so those stationed at Great Evolution Pass must already know what had happened here at the Royal City.
The Royal Lord was badly injured and was almost killed by the Old Ancestor. Countless Black Ink Clan soldiers were either killed or injured, so they were no longer able to engage the Humans away from the Royal City.
If the East-West Army swaggered towards Great Evolution Pass now, and this piece of news was sent from the Royal City to Great Evolution Pass through the Black Ink Nests, the Black Ink Clansmen over there would certainly be flustered; after all, the East-West Army had an Old Ancestor with them.
Although the Black Ink Clan had occupied Great Evolution Pass for 30,000 years, garrisoned a large Army there, and built up a lot of defences, there was no way to tell if that would be enough to resist a Human Army with an Old Ancestor assuming command.
When Great Evolution Pass was conquered, all the Black Ink Clansmen there would surely be executed.
From the Black Ink Clan’s perspective, if they found out about this news, they would certainly abandon Great Evolution Pass and run for their lives. It was no different from waiting for death by staying in Great Evolution Pass.
Upon that realisation, the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters became excited. Now, it seemed that the battle outside the Royal City was indeed the last of this war. It wouldn’t be hard for them to retrieve Great Evolution Pass, they just had to put on an act.
One of the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters suddenly thought of something and exclaimed, “Damn!”
Liu Zhi Ping looked smilingly at him, “What’s wrong, Junior Brother Fang?”
Junior Brother Fang explained, “The Black Ink Clansmen at Great Evolution Pass can find out about what happened in the Royal City through the Black Ink Nests, but the North-South Army don’t have access to such information. If the Black Ink Clan abandons Great Evolution Pass and tries to run away, will the North-South Army think that they’re desperately trying to rescue the Royal City? When that happens, the North-South Army will certainly try to stop them. Given the North-South Army’s current situation, casualties will be inevitable if they clash with the Black Ink Clan.”
Another Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master nodded, “You have a point. We have to inform the North-South Army about this as soon as possible. Where’s Yang Kai? Tell him to come over now. Since he’s a Master of the Dao of Space, he should be able to reach Great Evolution Pass in 8 days if he goes all out.”
Even Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters like them wouldn’t dare to say that they could arrive at Great Evolution Pass in 8 days from the Royal City. Other than Yang Kai, who was an expert in the Dao of Space, only the Old Ancestor could achieve that.
Although the Old Ancestor wasn’t badly injured, they certainly wouldn’t dare to ask her to be a messenger; therefore, this Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master instantly thought of Yang Kai.
There were a lot of Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters in the East-West Army, but only a small number of them were worth the attention of these Eighth-Order Division Commanders, and Yang Kai was undoubtedly the most outstanding among them.
However, Liu Zhi Ping just replied with a smile, “Don’t worry about it. In fact, before the battle even started, Senior Brother Xiang had sent Li Xing to head to Great Evolution Pass to inform the North-South Army about it. I suppose he should be with the North-South Army by now.”
Li Xing was Xiang Shan’s adjutant as well as a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master. He was the best choice to inform the North-South Army about this piece of news.
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were startled for a moment before turning to look at Xiang Shan.
In response, Xiang Shan nodded lightly to show that it was indeed the case.
Admiration was written all over Junior Brother Fang’s face, “You’re indeed far-sighted, Senior Brother Xiang. You’ve already expected this outcome while we’ve only thought about it now. We’re no match for you when it comes to military strategy.”
Xiang Shan waved his hand, “Please don’t be overly humble, Junior Brother Fang. You didn’t think about it because you’re not in my role. If you were the Army Commander, you would’ve expected the outcome as well.”
With a helpless smile, Junior Brother Fang shook his head, “I can never assume your role. There are so many Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters here, but none of us have enough authority to be the Army Commander. You’re the only one we can depend on.”
The other Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters nodded.
Initially, Xiang Shan’s authority came from the fact that he was appointed to be the Army Commander by the Old Ancestors; but now, he had earned their respect by proving his worth.
There were four Army Commanders in every Great Pass, so there were more than 400 Army Commanders in over 100 Great Passes in total; however, only a small number of them were a match for Xiang Shan when it came to their capabilities.
…..
Meanwhile, a visitor arrived at a new universe fragment where the North-South Army had re-established their forward base.
Upon getting permission, Li Xing strode into the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and saw an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, who was clad in scholar’s robes with a feather fan in his hand.
Knowing that this person was the Army Commander of the Northern Army, Mi Jing Lun, Li Xing saluted him.
Although he had never met Mi Jing Lun before, he had heard a lot about him. As he had always been by Xiang Shan’s side, the latter had repeatedly mentioned Mi Jing Lun over the years, saying that Mi Jing Lun was on par with, if not slightly better than him when it came to devising strategies.
Certainly, Li Xing wouldn’t believe it. Over the years, he had witnessed the arrangements that Xiang Shan had made on the battlefield, and his strategies were all top-notch. To him, Xiang Shan’s resourcefulness and foresight were practically peerless, so how was it possible that there was someone in the world who was more talented than he was?
Li Xing believed that Xiang Shan was just being humble when the latter complimented Mi Jing Lun in such a way.
Other than Mi Jing Lun, there was another Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master in the hall. His hair was fiery red, but his face was as pale as a piece of white paper.
This red-haired Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was the Army Commander of the Southern Army, Ou Yang Lie. It was said that he was a hot-tempered person. 10 years ago, he killed a Territory Lord in the battle against the Black Ink Clan; however, he was also badly injured and almost died during the fight.
It seemed that he still hadn’t recovered even though 10 years had passed.
This was understandable, as the more powerful one became, the harder it was to recover when they were injured, so it could be imagined how long an Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master would take to recover from a near-death experience.
One had to know that it always took the Old Ancestor at least decades to recuperate. On the other hand, since the day that the Royal Lord was first injured by the Old Ancestor, he had never fully recovered, and that was over 100 years ago.
Besides these two Army Commanders, there were other Eighth-Order Division Commanders from the North-South Army in the meeting hall.
Li Xing saluted all of them one by one.
Presently, Ou Yang Lie was seated on a chair. Before Li Xing could say anything, he asked, “What’s going on over there? Has the East-West Army launched the final attack on the Royal City?”
Over the years, the East-West Army and North-South Army would contact each other from time to time; however, due to the great distance, it would take a person an average of two months to travel back and forth between the two Armies, so their exchanges of information were not frequent. Only when one side had made a major decision would a messenger be sent to inform the other party about it.
Li Xing’s arrival suggested that he had something important to report. Perhaps it had something to do with the final battle against the Royal City, which was why Ou Yang Lie asked that question.
Li Xing bent his back and replied, “Martial Uncle Ou Yang, when I departed, the battle had yet to begin, but they were in the midst of final preparations. If I’m not mistaken, the East-West Army should be engaged in an intense battle with the Black Ink Clan as we speak. It’s even possible that the war has already ended.”
With a smile, Mi Jing Lun asked, “In your opinion, will the East-West Army achieve its objective this time?”
Li Xing nodded, “Yes.”
Mi Jing Lun arched his brow, “Since you’re so confident, it seems the situation over there is quite favourable. I suppose they’ve already won the fight. Well, with Senior Brother Xiang in charge, there’s no way the Black Ink Clan are a match for him.”
Ou Yang Lie pursed his lips, “Since the East-West Army has won, why did Xiang Shan tell you to come over?”
Since the beginning, Ou Yang Lie had always had some complaints against Xiang Shan. This couldn’t be helped, as the East-West Army was responsible for invading the Royal City, thus allowing them to earn a massive amount of Military Merits. On the other hand, the North-South Army had to stop the Black Ink Clansmen from leaving Great Evolution Pass. It certainly wasn’t as fun as attacking the Royal City like the East-West Army had done.
Li Xing replied, “Sir Xiang told me to come over to inform you that you have to be careful of what the Black Ink Clan from Great Evolution Pass might do soon.”
After giving it a thought, Mi Jing Lun nodded, “We indeed have to act prudently. If the Black Ink Clan at the Royal City are really defeated, those from Great Evolution Pass will surely become nervous when they learn about it. Now, they’re only left with two options, they either defend Great Evolution Pass to the last man, or run for their lives.”
At this point, he had figured out Xiang Shan’s intention, “So, I suppose Senior Brother Xiang wants us to just watch and do nothing if the Black Ink Clan tries to flee from Great Evolution Pass.”
Li Xing was slightly surprised at the speed of Mi Jing Lun’s inference, but soon nodded and replied, “That was indeed Sir Xiang’s intention.”
Ou Yang Lie asked, “Do you think the Black Ink Clan will abandon the Pass?”
Mi Jing Lun replied with a smile, “Do you think they would rather sit and wait for death? If I’m not mistaken, after the war, the East-West Army will take a short rest at their base before setting off in a high-profile manner so that the Black Ink Clan from the Royal City notice it and promptly send word to Great Evolution Pass.”
Then, he turned to look at Li Xing and asked, “Is this Brother Xiang’s arrangement?”
Admiration was written all over Li Xing’s face as he replied, “That is indeed his arrangement. Before I departed, Sir Xiang told me to pass on his word that the Army would rest for 10 days after the victory. After that, they will set off for the pass. He wants the North-South Army to pay close attention to what the Black Ink Clan from Great Evolution Pass do. If there is an anomaly, it suggests that the East-West Army has won the battle, while it’s the opposite if the Black Ink Clan do nothing.”
Before he came to this place, Li Xing thought that Mi Jing Lun was overrated. Now, it seemed that this Northern Army Commander was indeed talented in military strategy. At the very least, he was an intelligent person; otherwise, he wouldn’t have figured out Xiang Shan’s intentions so swiftly.
Ou Yang Lie frowned, “Do we just let the Black Ink Clan go if they flee from Great Evolution Pass?”
Mi Jing Lun explained, “We’re unable to stop them even if we wanted to. There’s a lack of manpower in the North-South Army now, so if the Black Ink Clan are determined to escape from the Pass, it won’t matter if we don’t stop them. However, if we do try to get in their way, it will certainly be a tough fight. When that happens, even more of our soldiers will lose their lives.”
Nobody wanted to experience the battle that took place 10 years ago again. During the battle, half of the North-South Army’s soldiers were killed while a number of Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters willingly sacrificed their lives just to stop the Black Ink Clan Army from reaching the Royal City. Even the Army Commander of the Southern Army, Ou Yang Lie, had almost lost his life.
An Eighth-Order Division Commander furrowed his brows, “There are a lot of Black Ink Clansmen in the Pass right now, at least 20 to 30 Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples as well as 250,000 Black Ink Clan soldiers. If we just let them return to the Royal City and join forces with the Black Ink Clan Army there, it will be a huge problem in the future.”
Mi Jing Lun said with a smile, “We have to be patient in order to achieve our goal. Think about it this way. If the Black Ink Clansmen flee from Great Evolution Pass, it’s no different from giving the place back to us for free. Isn’t it wonderful that we’re able to retake Great Evolution Pass without having to fight again? As for the future… Once the crusade begins, why would we have to fear the forces at the Royal City?”
The reason they had to retake Great Evolution Pass was to prepare for the crusade which would take place in the future. The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were aware of it, and they also knew that the Humans had a trump card to use against the Black Ink Clan. In fact, they had already developed this weapon, but they were still not able to mass-produce it. Moreover, they couldn’t reveal it at this point, so they never used it when trying to retake Great Evolution Pass.
However, once the crusade began, this weapon would surely be of great use. By then, destroying the Royal City would be a simple matter.
When Li Xing looked at the confident Mi Jing Lun, he felt as if the latter was another Xiang Shan. He thought that resourceful senior experts like them could always see things that others were not able to see. In this regard, Mi Jing Lun and Xiang Shan were very similar.
“Let’s just wait and see. If I’m not mistaken, the Black Ink Clan will send over an envoy within 10 days.”
The Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were astounded upon hearing that as they had no idea why Mi Jing Lun had made such a judgement. Li Xing was equally puzzled.
The blood feud between the two Races had been ongoing for countless years, and every time they clashed, both sides were determined to annihilate each other. There had never been a reason to send envoys to another side before.
However, since Mi Jing Lun had said so, he must have a reason to come to this conclusion.
After passing on Xiang Shan’s words, Li Xing was supposedly free to return to the East-West Army at any time.
Nevertheless, he decided to stay out of curiosity. He wanted to find out if Mi Jing Lun, who was so highly regarded by Xiang Shan, had accurately predicted the future. It would be an eye-opener if the Black Ink Clan really sent an envoy to this place.
…..
In the East-West Army’s forward base, the reorganisation was completed within 10 days. The more complete Squads were reinforced by the ones who had lost more members.
Presently, Yang Kai was standing on the deck of Dawning Light and looking out towards the void.
The Army was ready to set off.
Just then, three people with different auras rushed over from a distance. They were respectively Seventh-Order, Sixth-Order, and Fifth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The three of them came to a stop in the void, and the person at the front eyed Yang Kai for a moment before cupping his fist, “Western Army, Second Division, Wind Battalion, Third Squad, Blood Crow!”
“Wen Cheng Jing!”
“Zhang Yang!”
“Reporting for duty!”
Yang Kai nodded and ordered solemnly, “Get onboard!”
The next instant, Blood Crow led the Sixth-Order Wen Cheng Jing and Fifth-Order Zhang Yang to land on the deck.
The Purifying Black Ink Battleship slowly rose into the sky as a loud voice reverberated in all directions, “Set sail!”
“Set sail!” Yang Kai waved his hand and ordered. The arrays on Dawning Light activated, and the fleet of Warships charged towards the void.
On one of the Warships, Grandmaster Ma Fan looked in Great Evolution Pass’ direction and started weeping.
He had been waiting outside the Royal City for 150 years. Now that he could finally head to the place where his Ancestors and Seniors fought the enemy, he was overwhelmed by a sense of sorrow and agitation.
The Human Army’s movements horrified the Black Ink Clan soldiers outside the Royal City.
One had to know that the two Armies had clashed barely 10 days ago, and during that battle, the Royal Lord had been beaten half-dead and many of the Black Ink Clan soldiers were either killed or injured. At the end of that battle, the Human Old Ancestor even put on a display of killing three Territory Lords right in front of the Royal Lord, with the latter not daring to stop her.
Were the Humans preparing to raise a storm again after just 10 days?
The Territory Lords were deluged with a sense of unease, and the lower Black Ink Clansmen broke into a commotion.
However, what surprised them was that the Humans did not head towards the Royal City; instead, they seemed to be heading in a different direction.
All of them could clearly feel the Old Ancestor’s powerful aura coming from the fleet of Warships.
A myriad of expressions came over Che Kong as he looked in the direction the Humans were heading. As he thought of a possibility and realised that something was off, he promptly looked for the Royal Lord.
Presently, the Royal Lord’s face was pale, and his aura was extremely weak. Moreover, he was in a terrible mood.
This couldn’t be helped. Even though the Humans had retreated 10 days ago, the Old Ancestor had faintly locked onto him with her Will from a distance, forcing him to remain vigilant this whole time.
In such a situation, he wasn’t in the mood to recuperate, nor did he dare to do so.
However, on this day, he realised that the Old Ancestor’s aura was moving further away from him. As he released his Divine Sense, he soon understood the situation.
Che Kong arrived at his place at this point.
Before he could speak, the Royal Lord ordered, “Inform the Army at Great Evolution Pass to leave and return to the Royal City.”
Upon hearing that, Che Kong was astonished, “Are we abandoning Great Evolution Pass?”
The Royal Lord shook his head, “Since the Old Ancestor is personally heading to Great Evolution Pass, there’s no way they can hold it.”
Che Kong had already speculated that the Human Army was marching towards Great Evolution Pass. Now, it indeed seemed to be the case. He thus bowed his head, “I’ll send them a message now. However, there are some Human soldiers outside Great Evolution Pass. I’m worried that they might not have a chance to come back.”
The Royal Lord shook his head again, “The Humans will not intercept them again. Just inform them about it.”
Although Che Kong had no idea why the Royal Lord had made such a judgement, he could only oblige.
Just when he was about to leave the place, the Royal Lord suddenly said, “Tell those from Great Evolution Pass to make a detour. They must not run into the Old Ancestor on their way back.”
“Yes,” Che Kong replied and left.
After he was gone, the Royal Lord closed his eyes and clenched his fists tightly.
He was extremely vexed.
Despite having a huge advantage in terms of the number of soldiers and holding the geographical advantage, they were eventually defeated by the Humans, who now had the last laugh. On the other hand, a Royal Lord like him could only hide in the Royal City, not daring to show his face.
The root cause of the problem was that he had underestimated his opponent, thinking that the Old Ancestor, just like him, was still injured every time they clashed in the past. It never crossed his mind that the cunning Old Ancestor had fully recovered each time.
This was the kind of humiliation he could never wash away for the rest of his life.
The East-West Army departed from the base and headed to Great Evolution Pass. If everything went well, they would arrive at their destination in one month.
After 10 days of reorganisation, it could only be said that the soldiers were able to move and fight again, but they hadn’t fully recovered. The injured soldiers were still recuperating in the Warships of their Squads. Meanwhile, the Array Masters and Artifact Refiners were moving between the Warships to repair the artifacts and arrays. They were swamped with work.
Wen Cheng Jing and Zhang Yang, who were new to Dawn, soon familiarised themselves with the other members. Feng Ying had assigned some work and duties to them. On the other hand, Blood Crow, who didn’t seem to get along well with the others, was standing on the deck on his own. It wasn’t certain what was on his mind.
Yang Kai didn’t intend to interfere. It was impossible to expect that Blood Crow could get along with the others. His background, experiences, and temperament meant that he was unable to do that.
However, Blood Crow was already different from his past self. Yang Kai could detect that.
In the past, Blood Crow was forced to come to the Black Ink Battlefield to fight against the Black Ink Clan. But now, he didn’t battle against the Black Ink Clan just because he had to. It also had something to do with his Dao Heart.
Even though his life was saved by the members of his previous Squad, he might not necessarily be grateful to them; instead, he might think that those who were killed in his stead were foolish. Regardless, it was an indisputable fact that his life was saved. He didn’t have to be grateful, but he did have to repay their favour.
This was his Dao.
In the cabin, after examining Ning Qi Zhi’s body, Yang Kai said, “Just get some rest for the time being. Even if there’s a battle, don’t make a move.”
In the previous battle, Qi Tai Chu was killed while Ning Qi Zhi was terribly injured and his Small Universe was damaged. If not for the fact that Yang Kai had come to his rescue in time, his Small Universe would have been shattered.
If that happened, Qi Tai Chu wouldn’t have been the only one who died that day.
Although Ning Qi Zhi had survived, his Small Universe had cracked.
Fortunately, Yang Kai had Profound Yin Spirit Fruits on him.
When he was in Blue Sky Pass back then, he had intentionally planted some Profound Yin Fruit Trees and a massive amount of herbs that could be used to refine Purifying Black Ink Pills in his Small Universe.
They were planted in his medicine garden where Mu Zhu and Mu Lu, the two Wood Spirits, would tend to them. Those herbs would easily grow to maturity under their care.
Furthermore, the flow of time in his Small Universe was much faster than that in the outside world. More than 1,000 years had passed since then, so the Profound Yin Fruit Trees in his Small Universe had borne fruits. Yang Kai had handed 90% of them over to Army to be used by the other soldiers while he kept 10% just in case of emergencies.
Profound Yin Spirit Fruits were the only Spirit Fruits the Humans had found that could repair broken or incomplete Small Universes.
That was the reason Ning Qi Zhi’s life was saved. Although the Profound Yin Spirit Fruit had an amazing effect, it would take a long time before his Small Universe was fully repaired. Before that, he was unable to use his World Force, or his injury would exacerbate.
Upon hearing Yang Kai’s words, Ning Qi Zhi nodded, but he didn’t feel any sense of relief.
Qi Tai Chu had lost his life. In Dawn, Qi Tai Chu, Ning Qi Zhi, and Shen Ao were former Black Ink Disciples that Yang Kai had brought back from the Black Ink Clan’s side. They were friends who had shared countless life-and-death moments together on the battlefield.
Now, Qi Tai Chu was no longer there to drink wine and talk about the Martial Dao with the other two.
Yang Kai gently patted his shoulder and turned around to leave. The moment he left the cabin, he saw the gloomy-looking Blood Crow standing on the deck on his own.
Without intending to talk to him, Yang Kai returned to his room to get some rest.
As soon as he opened the door, he batted his eyes in stunned silence. A moment later, he gently stepped back and closed the door.
Before he could close the door though, a voice called out, “Come in and have a talk with me.”
A helpless Yang Kai tutted and opened the door again. Upon entering the room, he saluted the person who was seated on his bed, “Old Ancestor.”
No one knew when Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao had arrived aboard Dawning Light; however, given her Ninth-Order cultivation, no one could detect her presence if she wanted to conceal it.
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao shot him a glance and teased him by saying, “What’s wrong? Are you worried that there will be rumours about us? Is that why you left the door open?”
Yang Kai promptly shook his head, “That’s definitely not the case.”
Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao snorted.
A concerned Yang Kai asked, “How’re your injuries? Do you need a place to recuperate?”
Upon hearing that, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao waved her hand, “I don’t need to recuperate for now. We’ll talk about it when we settle down. Moreover, I wasn’t badly hurt in the previous battle.”
A curious Yang Kai asked, “Why are you here, then?”
Obviously, the Old Ancestor wouldn’t have come all the way here just to have a chat with him.
Without beating around the bush, Old Ancestor Xiao Xiao extended her hand, “Give me some a few sets of Space Beacons.”
The two of them had lived together in Yang Kai’s Small Universe for hundreds of years now and frequently chatted with each other. On occasion, Yang Kai would mention the methods he had developed in the Dao of Space, hoping the Old Ancestor might be able to give him some insights or inspiration.
That was why she was aware of the existence of his Space Beacons.
Yang Kai didn’t ask why she needed the Space Beacons and just fished out a few sets and passed them to her.
After taking the Space Beacons, the Old Ancestor directly disappeared.
Yang Kai batted his eyes once and realised that she was already nowhere to be seen in the room. Soon though, he heard the Old Ancestor’s voice, “Tell your Squad to relax. There won’t be a battle when we arrive at Great Evolution Pass.”
Upon hearing that, Yang Kai was stunned.
He thought that the reason they set off to Great Evolution Pass was to launch the last battle against the Black Ink Clan to retake it. However, the Old Ancestor’s words seemed to suggest that they could get Great Evolution Pass back without a fight.
Would the Black Ink Clan unconditionally surrender Great Evolution Pass to them?
Yang Kai frowned, but as he pondered on the issue, he soon realised the crux of the matter and figured out why she had said as much.
Even though it was no different from letting the Black Ink Clansmen from both sides join forces, it was still of greater benefit to the Human soldiers at the moment. Yang Kai had no idea about the North-South Army’s situation, but the East-West Army had just gone through an intense battle. If they fought again after such a short time, there would surely be massive losses.
If they could retake Great Evolution Pass without a fight, they could prevent a lot of unnecessary sacrifices.
As for the reason that the Old Ancestor wanted some Space Beacons from Yang Kai…
After giving it a thought, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Royal Lord for a moment.
Perhaps in the years to come, the Royal Lord would not be able to recuperate with peace of mind.
In the North-South Army’s base, Li Xing was given a room. By activating the Spirit Arrays, he could cultivate at ease without worrying about any interruption, unless the room itself was attacked.
However, he wasn’t in the mood to cultivate. The reason he didn’t immediately return to the East-West Army’s side after completing his task was that he wanted to find out if Mi Jing Lun’s speculation was right.
At the same time, he wanted to know the outcome of the war on the East-West Army’s side.
He had learned a lot of secrets from Xiang Shan, so he knew that it wouldn’t be hard for the East-West Army to win the battle; however, it remained uncertain whether the Old Ancestor would be able to kill the Royal Lord.
Before the outcome was clear, no one could be certain that there wouldn’t be a sudden turn of events.
It wasn’t hard to find out whether the East-West Army had won the battle. They just had to observe the reaction of the Black Ink Clansmen in Great Evolution Pass; therefore, Li Xing had been staring in Great Evolution Pass’ direction in an attempt to find out what was going on over there. Nevertheless, the Great Pass was too far away for a mere Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master to get a clear look. Regardless of what the Black Ink Clan were doing over there, he was unable to tell.
One day, he suddenly saw a ray of light rushing over from Great Evolution Pass’ direction.
Li Xing’s eyes brightened as he knew that it should be one of the people from the North-South Army responsible for monitoring Great Evolution Pass. Since the person was coming back in a hurry, he must have some news to report to the higher-ups.
As expected, after the person returned, he directly landed on the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
Li Xing had the urge to find out more, but he was worried that it would be awkward for him to do so; after all, he wasn’t from the North-South Army, so he didn’t have the right to head to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship as he pleased.
After waiting for some time, he saw the person emerging from the Purifying Black Ink Battleship, so he promptly went over to stop him and cupped his fist, “Please wait, Senior Brother.”
That person was also a Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, and as he lifted his head and recognised him, he asked with a smile, “Brother Li from the East-West Army?”
Li Xing nodded, then quickly asked, “Senior Brother, is there any news about the Black Ink Clansmen from Great Evolution Pass?”
The Seventh-Order Master hesitated for a bit, but reckoning that it wasn’t really a secret, he replied, “Indeed, Brother Li. Just now, we detected some unusual movement from Great Evolution Pass. There seemed to be a commotion; however, due to the Great Pass’ barrier, we were unable to find out what was going on regardless of how hard we tried. If it’s just like the information you’ve brought to us, the East-West Army should have won the battle. The Black Ink Clansmen there must be feeling uneasy now after learning the news from the Royal City.”
Li Xing became excited, “That has to be the case!”
The Seventh-Order Master said with a smile, “I share the same sentiment, so I came back in a hurry to report it to the two Army Commanders. Brother Li, I have to return to continue monitoring Great Evolution Pass, so I’ll take my leave now.”
Saying so, he cupped his fist and left the place.
Li Xing, who had been anxious recently, finally relaxed. Since the Black Ink Clan from Great Evolution Pass started making a move, it suggested that those from the Royal City were defeated.
In that case, the East-West Army must have successfully carried out its plan. In other words, they had won.
Therefore, he no longer had to return to the East-West Army. According to the plan, if the East-West Army won the war, they would soon come over and join up with the North-South Army.
As such, Li Xing just had to wait here and could also find out if Mi Jing Lun’s speculation was right.
After bidding Li Xing farewell, the Seventh-Order Master headed straight in Great Evolution Pass’ direction.
A few hours later, he landed on an asteroid where there were two other Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters. One of them was seen with Demon Qi swirling around his figure. It was obvious that he was from Myriad Demons Cave Heaven. On the other hand, it was difficult to figure out the other person’s background; however, he was clad in a green robe, and his aura felt natural and pure.
Presently, one of these Seventh-Order Masters was seen with a golden left pupil. Apparently, he had activated the Demon Eye of Annihilation.
It wasn’t certain what kind of an amazing Eye Secret Technique the green-robed Seventh-Order Master was using, but his eyes had turned amber, and a flash of light was seen flowing behind his gaze.
They were seated in two different places as they stared in Great Evolution Pass’ direction in an attempt to find out what was going on over there.
There were countless talents in the Cave Heavens and Paradises, so it wasn’t hard to get two people who had cultivated Eye Secret Techniques to monitor Great Evolution Pass.
The three of them were in the same group. Two people were responsible for keeping an eye on Great Evolution Pass while the remaining one served as a runner to report any findings to the higher-ups. There was a clear division of tasks.
A moment later, the disciple from Myriad Demons Cave Heaven grunted all of a sudden. At the same time, the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master, whose eyes had turned amber, batted his eyes. It was apparent that they had discovered something.
The disciple from Myriad Demons Cave Heaven suddenly said, “There are some Black Ink Clansmen coming over from Great Evolution Pass.”
“How many are there?” The Seventh-Order Master, who had just returned to this place, asked anxiously. It would be bad news to the Humans whenever the Black Ink Clansmen left Great Evolution Pass. Every time they did that, there would be a fight with the North-South Army, though the enemy would always be defeated. Therefore, the Seventh-Order Master became nervous upon learning that some Black Ink Clansmen had left Great Evolution Pass.
The Seventh-Order Master from Myriad Demons Cave Heaven replied, “There are only a few dozen of them.”
The green-robed Seventh-Order Master arched his brow, “It seems that Senior Mi’s speculation was right. They appear to be the Black Ink Clan’s envoys.”
Since they were asked to monitor Great Evolution Pass, Mi Jing Lun had told them the reason they had to do so. Just like Li Xing, they were previously puzzled. The blood feud between the two Races on the Black Ink Battlefield was practically irresolvable. They would always engage in a life-and-death fight every time they clashed, so no envoys had ever been sent to the other side before.
They thought that such a thing was unlikely to happen; however, since Mi Jing Lun had said so, they wouldn’t dare to doubt it.
Now, several dozen Black Ink Clansmen were indeed coming over from Great Evolution Pass, and it was apparent that they were not looking for trouble. The only reasonable explanation was that they were the expected envoys.
“Do we act according to the plan?” The Seventh-Order Master from Myriad Demons Cave Heaven raised his brow.
The green-robed Seventh-Order Master nodded, “En. However, we’re not sure how many Feudal Lords there are. If there are too many of them, we might suffer a setback instead.”
The Seventh-Order Master from Myriad Demons Cave Heaven grinned, “Don’t worry. Senior Mi said that even if we make a move, they won’t have the nerve to fight back. There’s nothing to worry about even if there are Territory Lords among them; after all, to them, we still have no idea about the outcome of the war at the Royal City.”
The other two nodded, then activated their Secret Techniques to cover their figures up and hide their auras. At the same time, they sent a message back to the forward base. Soon, several Human Warships secretly set out to ambush the enemies.
After departing from Great Evolution Pass, the several dozen Black Ink Clansmen rushed forward and it only took them about half a day before they arrived somewhere near the asteroid field.
At this point, the Humans could easily figure out how strong these Black Ink Clansmen were.
There were only a few Feudal Lords, while the rest were all High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen. No Territory Lords were present.
It seemed that the Territory Lords were truly afraid of death. They were obviously worried that the Humans would attack them if they came over all of a sudden; therefore, they sent some Feudal Lords first to test the waters.
Since there wasn’t even a single Territory Lord, the Humans who were hiding nearby became at ease.
Just as the Black Ink Clansmen were about to pass by the asteroids, the arrays on the Warships activated. At the same time, Secret Techniques and the powers of artifacts rained down on these Black Ink Clansmen.
Violent energy fluctuations suddenly exploded. Engulfed in a great sense of danger, these Black Ink Clansmen, who were already apprehensive to begin with, were terrified. Flustered, they hurriedly dispersed.
However, under the intense barrage, these Black Ink Clansmen were not spared from misfortune. In an instant, half of them perished.
Before they even managed to steady themselves, the Human Warships had revealed themselves. Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters leapt out and cast their Secret Techniques at the enemies.
The Feudal Lord in the lead dodged the attacks with difficulty while exclaiming, “Wait! We’re not here to fight! Territory Lord Hong Di has ordered us to come here for peace talks with you all!”
His loud voice reverberated across the void.
Naturally, the Human soldiers didn’t bother to respond to him and dismissed his words as nonsense. It seemed that just like what Mi Jing Lun had expected, these Black Ink Clansmen wouldn’t dare to counterattack even if they were attacked. As such, the Humans became even more ruthless with their assault.
These poor Feudal Lords had survived several clashes with the North-South Army, so it could be said that they were elites among the Black Ink Clan. Nevertheless, at this moment, they could only dodge in embarrassment.
Things would only get worse if they kept avoiding the attacks though, and by the time these Feudal Lords realised that the situation could not be salvaged and wanted to counterattack, it was already too late.
Only a cup of tea’s time had passed since the Human soldiers started attacking, but these several dozen Black Ink Clansmen were almost wiped out.
Before his death, the Black Ink Clansman at the front exclaimed, “We’re really here to discuss peace!”
The Humans had never responded to him since the beginning, so he was extremely vexed right until his death.
Although they knew that these Black Ink Clansmen were indeed here for a peace talk, none of the Humans had any pity for them. That was because they knew that these Black Ink Clansmen must have killed Humans before.
On the walls of Great Evolution Pass, the Territory Lords were standing alongside one another as they looked into the distance.
When they saw that the several dozen Black Ink Clansmen were all killed, their expressions turned gloomy.
Even though they were fairly certain that these Black Ink Clansmen would end up in a horrible state, none of them had expected that the Humans would be so ruthless.
With that said, the outcome wasn’t surprising. There was a blood feud between the two Races that stretched back countless years. When one side suddenly wanted to talk peace, the other side certainly wouldn’t easily believe them. It was expected that they would simply attack.
It was for this reason that the Territory Lords didn’t show up in the first attempt. They only sent some Feudal Lords and High-Rank Black Ink Clansmen as a test.
The situation was apparently more troublesome than they imagined.
Hong Di said grimly, “In such a situation, does any one of you have a solution? At a minimum, we have to establish contact with the Humans before we even think about a peace talk.”
If they couldn’t open a dialogue with the Humans, it would be pointless to send more Black Ink Clansmen over.
The Territory Lords fell silent. The incident earlier showed that the Humans would immediately attack when they saw Black Ink Clansmen leave the Great Pass. There was no room for communication, so how were they supposed to discuss anything?
When they learned that their brethren at the Royal City were defeated and the Royal Lord was horrendously injured, they were quite flustered. Over the past 100 or so years, the Human soldiers would attack the Royal City every 20 years. The Black Ink Clansmen from Great Evolution Pass were aware of this; after all, it was easy to transmit information through the Black Ink Nests.
Over the years, even though those from the Royal City would always suffer some losses in each engagement, the losses were not critical. The Royal Lord and the Old Ancestor were equally matched, with neither being capable of killing the other; therefore, they were puzzled as to why the situation had suddenly become so abysmal at the Royal City.
After some inquiries, they learned that the Human Old Ancestor had been concealing the fact that she could recover far faster than anticipated. Over the years, she repeatedly exacerbated the Royal Lord’s injuries, never giving him time to fully heal, while she would make a complete recovery. Finally, after 100 years of plotting, she dropped the pretence and forced the Royal Lord to flee back to the Royal City in embarrassment.
Although the Human soldiers had returned to their forward base, things were not looking good on the Royal City’s side and those from Great Evolution Pass were worried that the Royal City would really be destroyed by the Humans.
Then, they received a piece of news that horrified them.
Barely 10 days after the great battle ended, the Human Army left the forward base they had garrisoned in for over 100 years and headed in Great Evolution Pass’ direction.
That was some shocking news.
There was already a Human Army at Great Evolution Pass’ doorstep, one that had stopped them from leaving this place on multiple occasions. If the Human soldiers from the Royal City joined up with them, the Black Ink Clansmen at Great Evolution Pass would be doomed.
Furthermore, the Old Ancestor was with the approaching Human Army.
It could be said that the moment the Human Armies joined forces, death would become certain for the Black Ink Clansmen from Great Evolution Pass.
The Territory Lords were all incredibly flustered. Fortunately, there was an order from the Royal City that told them to evacuate Great Evolution Pass. Although Hong Di was unwilling to abandon his territory, he could only do so in order to save his life.
However, they still had to come up with a way to leave Great Evolution Pass. Over the years, the Humans would be instantly alerted the moment the Black Ink Clan made a move.
Therefore, if they rashly left Great Evolution Pass, the Humans might misunderstand their intentions, and then a battle would be inevitable.
After pondering on the issue, the Territory Lords concluded that their best option was to negotiate a temporary cease-fire with the Humans first. That was why the several dozen Black Ink Clansmen were sent out.
To them, they had the advantage of knowing things that the Humans didn’t. They were aware of what had happened at the Royal City while the Humans might not necessarily know it; hence, they could make use of this advantage to achieve their objective.
If the Humans found out that those from the Royal City were defeated, and that a fleet of Human Warships was coming over to join them, they might not be willing to discuss peace at all.
From the Humans’ perspective, it would be a wise move to stop the Black Ink Clansmen from leaving Great Evolution Pass and wait for the arrival of their reinforcements before joining forces and wiping them out.
Therefore, a peace talk had to be held and concluded before the Human soldiers from the two sides established contact. Otherwise, the Black Ink Clansmen at Great Evolution Pass would be doomed.
Hong Di swept a glance over these silent Territory Lords and cursed at them in his mind, thinking that they were all useless when their help was needed.
Hence, he could only turn to his Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple, “Zhou Qi, since you’re a Human, do you have a suggestion to deal with this situation?”
Black Ink Strength was seen swirling around the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple named Zhou Qi. His neck was full of abscesses where black pus was seen oozing out. Not only did this person look hideous, his body also stank. It was as though he was a rotten corpse. His smell couldn’t be isolated using any Secret Techniques, so all the Black Ink Clansmen and the other Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples stayed far away from him.
Upon hearing Hong Di’s question, Zhou Qi bent his back and replied, “Sir, when I was younger, I happened to wander around a Universe World where I saw two Human Armies clashing with one another. When the losing side wanted to surrender, they would send a group of people to the other side waving a white flag. When the people on the other side saw the white flag, they knew not to launch an attack. Why don’t we try that?”
“Raising a white flag?” Hong Di was surprised as he had never heard of it before.
Another Territory Lord asked his own Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple, “Is that true?”
After pondering on it for a moment, the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciple replied, “I’ve heard of it before; however, every Universe World has its own unique customs, so it might not be a universally accepted sign. I’m not sure if it’ll be effective on the Human soldiers over there.”
Hong Di nodded, “We’ll give it a try to find out if it’s effective. Get me a white flag!”
Following his order, the Black Ink Clansmen started getting prepared.
A while later, a white flag was made. The white flag was truly gigantic, as though they were worried that the Humans wouldn’t be able to see it.
A moment later, another group of Black Ink Clansmen departed from Great Evolution Pass. The Feudal Lord at the front raised the white flag and headed towards the North-South Army’s forward base while feeling incredibly apprehensive.
On the monitoring asteroid, the two Seventh-Order Masters who cultivated Eye Secret Techniques immediately spotted this new group.
The Seventh-Order Master from Myriad Demons Cave Heaven couldn’t help but break into laughter, “They’re coming over with a white flag. Are we going to attack?”
“So what if they’re coming over with a white flag? Just kill them all!” A certain Squad Leader rolled up his sleeves as he was ready to kill.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” the Seventh-Order Master, who was responsible for passing on information, shook his head, “The higher-ups have made it clear that we have to eventually negotiate with the Black Ink Clan. It’s reasonable for us to say that we did not know their intentions when we killed their first group of envoys, but now that they’ve made such an obvious gesture, waving a giant white flag, we might ruin the Army Commanders’ plans if we still make a move.”
A cornered animal would strike back at all costs if it was pushed into a hopeless situation, no matter how timid it may be. Earlier, the Humans had killed a group of Black Ink Clansmen, which was fine if all they wanted was to destroy the enemy. However, if they repeatedly killed the Black Ink Clan’s envoys and eliminated any hope of negotiation, that would be disastrous for them as well.
Therefore, upon hearing what the Seventh-Order Open Heaven Realm Master said, the others nodded in agreement.
“I’ll make contact with them.” Saying so, the Seventh-Order Master emerged from his hiding place, stood there in the void, and looked condescendingly at the group of Black Ink Clansmen.
From afar, the Feudal Lord at the front spotted this Seventh-Order Master. He was initially anxious, but upon seeing the person’s actions, he relaxed slightly.
He had seen what had happened to the previous group of his clansmen; therefore, after taking on the task, he was worried that he would also perish just like them.
However, since a Human was willing to show up and not immediately attack, it meant that they had figured out their intentions.
Now, it seemed that raising a white flag was indeed useful.
Half a day later, with the Feudal Lords leading the way, these Black Ink Clansmen arrived somewhere near the asteroid. Only one Seventh-Order Master had shown up on the Humans’ side while the others remained hidden nearby.
Despite being alone, this Human gave off a domineering air.
These Black Ink Clansmen stopped at a spot that was 100,000 kilometres away from the Seventh-Order Human. The Feudal Lord, who was holding the white flag, gave a hint to the Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciple beside him. The latter took a step forward and cupped his fist, “May I know your name, Senior Brother?”
The Seventh-Order Master glanced at this Black Ink Disciple and let out a sigh. He saluted him back and replied, “Clear Mind Cave Heaven, Mu Tian Zong.”
He wouldn’t have been so polite if it was a Black Ink Clansman who asked him this question; however, the one who spoke was a Black Ink Disciple. His appearance suggested that he could no longer be saved, but he used to be a Human, after all. He was not willingly corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
Every time the Humans came across such Black Ink Disciples on the battlefield, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill them. That was because death was the only release for these Black Ink Disciples.
Nevertheless, in such a situation, it wasn’t appropriate for this Seventh-Order Master to give them the cold shoulder. This Black Ink Disciple used to be a part of the Human Race, and he had fought against the Black Ink Clan on the battlefield before.
The leading Feudal Lord was apparently a clever one as he let this Black Ink Disciple speak while he remained silent. There was no doubt that it was a wise decision.
The Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciple nodded, “Great Evolution Pass, Lian Xu!”
Without beating around the bush, Mu Tian Zong asked, “Why has the Black Ink Clan come all the way here, waving a white flag?”
Lian Xu replied, “Senior Brother, the Black Ink Clan of Great Evolution Pass would like to hold peace talks with the Humans. The reason we have a white flag with us is to show our sincerity.”
“A peace talk?” Mu Tian Zong arched his brow, as though he was surprised, “The blood feud between the two Races is irresolvable. Do you think we’ll believe that you want to suddenly discuss peace?”
Lian Xu replied, “It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not. What matters is whether the Army Commanders and the Division Commanders will believe it.”
He basically implied that this Seventh-Order Master had no right to decide how the matter should be handled.
Mu Tian Zong stared back at him and snorted.
It had to be said that the Black Ink Clan had made the right decision by letting a Black Ink Disciple deal with this matter instead of doing it themselves; after all, Black Ink Disciples had a far better understanding of the Human Race.
The Black Ink Disciple Lian Xu went on to say, “Over the past 100 years, the Black Ink Clansmen from Great Evolution Pass have repeatedly clashed with the Army you belong to, and both parties have suffered immense losses. Now, the Black Ink Clansmen are stuck in Great Evolution Pass while the Humans don’t dare to attack rashly. Further confrontation will only drain our strength and waste our time. Now, the Black Ink Clan are willing to return Great Evolution Pass to the Humans. It’s just that we don’t know whether the Humans are willing to accept it.”
Hearing that, Mu Tian Zong secretly sneered.
The truth was that the Black Ink Clan at the Royal City had been defeated, and those garrisoned at Great Evolution Pass had no choice but to abandon this place. However, this Black Ink Disciple spoke in a way as though the Black Ink Clan were doing the Humans a favour by giving Great Evolution Pass back to them.
Did they think that the North-South Army had no idea what had happened at the Royal City?
Just like what Mi Jing Lun had expected, the Black Ink Clan thought that the Humans did not know what transpired at the Royal City, so they wanted to take advantage of it. Despite knowing what was going on, the Seventh-Order Master pretended that he knew nothing as he appeared surprised, “The Black Ink Clan are going to just give Great Evolution Pass back to us?”
Lian Xu nodded, “Great Evolution Pass originally belonged to the Human Race. Now, we’re just returning it to you.”
“What are the Black Ink Clan’s conditions?” Mu Tian Zong appeared tempted, “There’s no way they will give it back to us for free. It’s not like they’re kind-hearted people.”
Lian Xu replied with a smile, “There are indeed some conditions; however, it’s pointless for us to discuss this. The leaders of the two Races will have to meet to make a decision.”
Mu Tian Zong furrowed his brow slightly before nodding, “You have a point. In that case, give me a moment. I’ll relay a message to the higher-ups.”
Saying so, he fished out a Communication Bead and activated his Divine Sense to get in touch with those at the forward base.
These apprehensive Black Ink Clansmen waited in silence, especially the Feudal Lord who was holding the white flag. He had a feeling that some people were watching him from the shadows, which made him feel uneasy.
A moment later, Mu Tian Zong lifted his head and said, “We’ve received an order. Since the Black Ink Clan wants to hold peace talks, tell the Territory Lord who can make decisions to come over. The Army Commanders and Division Commanders will speak with him.”
It seemed that Lian Xu had already expected this, so he shook his head with a smile, “That’s not appropriate. If Sir Territory Lord comes all the way here, and the Army Commanders and Division Commanders intend to kill him, he might not be able to keep himself safe.”
Mu Tian Zong scoffed, “You used to be a Human, so you should know that we don’t go back on our word.”
Lian Xu refuted, “I also know that deception is an essential tool to achieve one’s goal on the battlefield.”
Mu Tian Zong asked impatiently, “What do you think we should do, then?”
“Give me a moment, Senior Brother.” Saying so, Lian Xu turned to look at the Feudal Lord with the white flag and used his Divine Sense to communicate with him.
Mu Tian Zong had no idea what they were talking about, but the Feudal Lord kept nodding his head, as though Lian Xu was actually the leader here.
The Feudal Lord was probably flustered as numerous murderous intents had locked onto him, so he wasn’t in the mood to mull over anything. Therefore, he just let Lian Xu make the decision.
A moment later, Lian Xu said, “I think that the leaders of the two Races should meet at a neutral location to prevent either side from having ill intentions. What do you think, Senior Brother?”
“Where do you think a suitable place would be?” Mu Tian Zong asked.
Lian Xu replied, “A million kilometres away from Great Evolution Pass.”
The distance was still within range of the arrays set up at Great Evolution Pass. The reason Lian Xu had made this offer was to give the Humans room for negotiation, but surprisingly, Mu Tian Zong directly agreed to it, “Good, a million kilometres out from Great Evolution Pass it is.”
His prompt reply startled Lian Xu as he asked in shock, “Don’t you have to get the approval of your higher-ups, Senior Brother?”
A confident Mu Tian Zong replied, “The Army Commanders have given me authority to make the decision.”
He really had gotten this permission when he contacted those at the forward base just now. Mi Jing Lun had already expected this kind of outcome, so he told Mu Tian Zong to just agree to any place that the other party proposed because he was certain that regardless of where the peace talk was held, the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t dare to initiate hostilities.
What’s more, by granting a concession here, they could be more aggressive during the actual negotiations.
Lian Xu wasn’t sure if he should believe what he was hearing; however, things had come to such a point where he could only believe this Seventh-Order Master.
No one could have expected that the location of the peace talk would be so easily decided, especially the Feudal Lord at the front. When he returned to Great Evolution Pass with the white flag in his hands, he still felt like he was dreaming.
When he reported the outcome to Hong Di and the other Territory Lords, they were all surprised. They had never expected that the Humans would be willing to hold peace talks just 1 million kilometres away from Great Evolution Pass. How confident must the Humans be to agree to it? Or did they have other arrangements?
Back at the forward base, Mi Jing Lun stepped out of the Purifying Black Ink Battleship.
The Eighth-Order Division Commanders behind him were boisterous, some of them wanting to tag along while some of them wanted to sail the fleet out to put pressure on the Black Ink Clan.
After all, the location of the peace talks was too close to Great Evolution Pass. If the Black Ink Clan played any kind of trick, the Humans would suffer greatly.
Mi Jing Lun just let them keep making noise. It wasn’t until they gradually fell silent that he said, “I don’t need anyone to come with me, nor do we have to sail the fleet out to that place. This Mi alone will be enough.”
Seeing that the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters were about to raise a fuss again, Mi Jing Lun stopped them by saying, “Don’t worry. The Black Ink Clan won’t dare to make a move this time.”
Ou Yang Lie refuted, “Regardless of whether they will make a move or not, I’m going with you.”
With a helpless smile, Mi Jing Lun replied, “You haven’t recovered yet, so what good will you coming with me do?”
Ou Yang Lie said, “I’m fine. Even if there is a fight, I won’t be a burden to you.”
Mi Jing Lun shook his head, “Just stay here and recuperate. You’re hot-tempered, so it might not be a good thing if you tag along.”
Ou Yang Lie pursed his lips and replied in a muffled voice, “I’ll just keep my mouth shut when we get there.”
“Do you really want to come with me?” Mi Jing Lun gazed at him.
Ou Yang Lie snorted, “You and I are equal in rank, you can’t stop me from coming.”
Mi Jing Lun rubbed his forehead, “Fine. You can come with me, Brother Ou Yang.”
The Eighth-Order Masters broke into a commotion. It was already inappropriate that Mi Jing Lun wanted to go there on his own, but now that the two Army Commanders were leaving at the same time, the North-South Army would be leaderless if the Black Ink Clan decided to kill them both.
Seeing that they just wouldn’t keep their mouths shut, Mi Jing Lun eventually gave an order as the Army Commander and made them shut up.
A moment later, two figures shot into the sky and headed in Great Evolution Pass’ direction.
Somewhere in the forward base, a dazed Li Xing watched them leave with a great sense of admiration in his heart.
The Black Ink Clan really wanted to hold peace talks with the Humans. How strange was that?
He couldn’t believe his ears when he first heard about it. The reasons he decided to stay were that, first of all, he didn’t have to return to the East-West Army’s side, and secondly, he wanted to find out if Mi Jing Lun’s speculation was right.
Now, it seemed that this Army Commander indeed had incredible foresight.
He had stayed by Xiang Shan’s side for a very long time, so he was fully aware that the latter was extremely talented when it came to military strategy. Now, there seemed to be someone who was a match for Xiang Shan.
With such people in charge of the Human Army, why would they have to worry about not winning the war against the Black Ink Clan?
In the void, Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie headed in Great Evolution Pass’ direction alongside each other.
Initially, just like what Ou Yang Lie had promised earlier, he remained silent; however, he soon pushed his promise to the back of his mind as he said, “Old Mi, there’s something I don’t understand. I wonder if you’ve figured it out.”
Mi Jing Lun asked with a smile, “What’s troubling you, Brother Ou Yang?”
Ou Yang Lie waved his hand, “Stop teasing me. I’m good at fighting, but it’s not my forte to think about stuff. So, I need you to explain it to me.”
“Alright, go ahead.”
Ou Yang Lie went on to say, “Judging from the Black Ink Clan’s reaction, those from the Royal City must have faced a tremendous defeat; otherwise, they wouldn’t suddenly want to hold peace talks with us.”
“That’s right. Senior Brother Xiang’s plan was that they’d set off from the Royal City to Great Evolution Pass in a high-profile manner. This news must have been passed on from the Black Ink Clansmen in the Royal City to those in Great Evolution Pass through the Black Ink Nests. If they want to survive, they have to leave Great Evolution Pass within half a month; otherwise, it will be too late.”
Although it would take the East-West Army a month to arrive at this place from the Royal City, the Black Ink Clan had to leave Great Evolution Pass half a month in advance if they wanted to be safe; otherwise, they might come across the East-West Army and the Old Ancestor on the way to their destination, which would be a death sentence.
“Then, do you think that the Royal Lord is… dead?” Ou Yang Lie turned to look at Mi Jing Lun. That was what he couldn’t figure out. Although he had a speculation, he couldn’t be certain.
“The Royal Lord is still alive,” Mi Jing Lun directly stated.
“Why do you think so?”
“Since the Black Ink Clan want to have peace talks with us, it means that they want to circumvent the North-South Army and head to the Royal City. If the Royal Lord had died, the Royal City would’ve been destroyed. In that case, what’s the point of them returning to the Royal City? They could just leave from the back of Great Evolution Pass and make a detour to the left to reach the Wind and Cloud Theatre. Or, they could go to the Azure Void Theatre on the right to join up with the Black Ink Clan there. Since they want to return to the Royal City, it means that the Royal Lord is still alive.”
Upon hearing that, Ou Yang Lie nodded, “Just as I thought. Haha, as the old saying goes, great minds think alike.”
He was just a rough man with nothing but brute force, but he still shamelessly claimed to have a great mind like that of Mi Jing Lun, as though he was an intelligent person. Mi Jing Lun went on to say with a smile, “There’s one more reason I am certain of my conclusion.”
“Oh? What is it?”
Mi Jing Lun pointed at Great Evolution Pass, “If the Royal Lord was killed, the Royal Lord Black Ink Nest would have been destroyed, taking that Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest in Great Evolution Pass with it. Since the Black Ink Nest in the Pass is still alive, it suggests that the Black Ink Nest in the Royal City is alright. So, the Royal Lord must still be alive.”
Ou Yang Lie repeatedly nodded, “Yes, yes. That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
…..
In Great Evolution Pass, just as the Territory Lords were deliberating on whether the Humans were plotting something, a Feudal Lord came over in a hurry and reported, “There are some Humans approaching Great Evolution Pass. Their auras suggest that they are Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters!”
Hong Di and the other Territory Lords were shocked.
Hong Di asked, “How many are there?”
The Feudal Lord replied, “There are only two of them.”
“Are there any Human soldiers behind them?”
“The Human soldiers remain at their base. There are no signs of additional activity.”
Hong Di couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He promptly leapt onto the wall and looked out intently. There were indeed two rays of light rushing towards Great Evolution Pass.
They were indeed Eighth-Order Masters, for Hong Di could clearly sense the Eighth-Order auras exuding from them.
[Are there really only the two of them?] Although they had been enemies for many years, Hong Di couldn’t help but think that these two Eighth-Order Masters were quite bold.
If he was in their shoes, he wouldn’t have the guts to do such a thing.
When the group of Black Ink Clansmen returned and reported to them what had happened, they felt that the Humans must have some kind of scheme they wanted to pull off by agreeing to meet at a place just 1 million kilometres away from Great Evolution Pass for the peace talks. Now, it seemed that there wasn’t any kind of plot at all. The two Eighth-Order Masters were coming over on their own, which made the Black Ink Clan appear somewhat weak and petty.
Seeing that, the Territory Lords fell into a dilemma. If the Humans really wanted to pull a trick, they could have responded in kind; however, that was not the case. What were they supposed to do in this situation?
All the Territory Lords looked at Hong Di, hoping that he would make a decision.
After giving it a thought, Hong Di said grimly, “The Humans are indeed brave, but it’s not like we are all cowards. Does any one of you want to greet our guests with me?”
If he had a choice, he wouldn’t want to leave Great Evolution Pass; nevertheless, he was the owner of this territory and the leader of the Black Ink Clan here. If he didn’t step forward to deal with this issue, who else would?
He swept a glance over these Territory Lords, but they all remained silent. Clearly, none of them wanted to go with him.
He secretly sighed, knowing that the Territory Lords here had been traumatized by the Eighth-Order Humans during the previous battle. In that fight, the Eighth-Order Masters willingly sacrificed their lives just to bring down the Territory Lords with them. At that time, he didn’t take part in the battle because he had to remain in charge of Great Evolution Pass; however, after the dust settled, Hong Di heard all about how tragic that battle was. If he were these Territory Lords, he would’ve felt terrified of these insane Eighth-Order Masters too.
Since no one was willing to go with him, he could only choose someone himself.
He glanced at a Territory Lord whose figure was quite Human-like and said, “You’ll come with me, Nu Yi.”
The Territory Lord was shocked as she had never expected that Hong Di would choose her; however, everyone was looking at her now, and what they were about to do would determine whether the Black Ink Clansmen in Great Evolution Pass could survive, so she could not back down. Therefore, she summoned her courage and nodded, “Yes.”
“Let’s go,” Hong Di waved his hand, flew over the wall, and dashed into the distance. Nu Yi followed him closely.
When he reached a spot that was a million kilometres away from Great Evolution Pass, Hong Di stopped in his tracks and waited patiently.
Nu Yi took a step forward and stood beside him.
The two Eighth-Order Masters were moving at a speed that was neither slow nor fast, so it would take them about an hour before they arrived. However, their majestic auras could clearly be felt, and one could faintly see the figures hidden within the rays of light.
Discovering something shocking, Nu Yi shuddered and exclaimed, “He’s not dead!”
“What?” Hong Di glanced at her in puzzlement.
She pointed at one of the rays of light, “The one with a more violent aura is a red-haired Human. Zhe Chong was killed by him. He should have died in that battle, but it seems he’s still alive.”
When Zhe Chong was killed, she was nearby, so she saw him being beheaded by the red-haired Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master with his sword. However, the Eighth-Order Master’s aura soon withered, so she thought that he had perished along with Zhe Chong.
It wasn’t until this moment that she realised the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master from back then was still alive.
The familiar aura made her recall the ruthless red-haired man who seemed to not care at all for his own life and she couldn’t help but shudder.
Upon hearing that, Hong Di paid more attention to the Human with the fiery aura. He could detect that even though the aura was imposing, it was somewhat unstable. It was obvious that the person was still injured.
It seemed that even though this Human had survived the battle 10 years ago, he was horribly injured; otherwise, he would’ve recovered by now.
[The Humans…]
After fighting with the Humans for so many years, Hong Di still couldn’t figure out what advantages that this Race had. They couldn’t cultivate as fast as the Black Ink Clan could, they were not as strong as the Black Ink Clan, they also couldn’t endlessly nurture new soldiers like the Black Ink Clan as long as there were Black Ink Nests and resources.
Nevertheless, even after all these years, the two Races were still deadlocked on the Black Ink Battlefield. The Black Ink Clan had never gained the upper hand over the Humans.
If he had to summarise it, Hong Di would say that the biggest strength the Humans had was their resilience.
Races that were not resilient enough were unable to resist the Black Ink Clan.
One hour later, the two rays of light arrived at a spot that was just 100 hundred kilometres away from Hong Di and Nu Yi before stopping.
It could be said to be a dangerous distance, as to a Territory Lord or Eighth-Order Master, such a distance was no different from being face to face with one another. One could touch the other party just by lifting his hand.
This made Hong Di and Nu Yi tense up.
The lights dissipated and revealed two figures. One of them was clad in scholarly clothes and had a feather fan in his hand. The other was a burly red-haired man.
Unlike how anxious Hong Di and Nu Yi were, these two Humans appeared calm and collected, and upon detecting their anxiety, the red-haired Eighth-Order Master openly sneered.
This made Hong Di secretly furious. They had Great Evolution Pass behind them, and should there be any anomaly, the powers of the arrays and artifacts would rain on these two Humans. Why should he be afraid of them?
On the other hand, these two Humans didn’t have support here. Should there be a conflict, they would surely suffer miserably.
At the thought of this, Hong Di relaxed and cupped his fist, just like how the Humans would usually greet each other, “Hong Di.”
Nu Yi also gave her name.
With a smile, Mi Jing Lun saluted them back, “Great Evolution Northern Army, Mi Jing Lun.”
“Great Evolution Southern Army, Ou Yang Lie.”
Hong Di became startled for a moment. Although the two Races had been in a confrontation for many years, it wasn’t until this moment that he discovered the Humans had named their Army after ‘Great Evolution’. It showed they were determined to retake Great Evolution Pass.
“Although I’ve never heard of your names before, I know that you two are outstanding strategists after dealing with you for so many years. We’ve suffered a lot of setbacks because of you.”
Mi Jing Lun replied with a smile, “Since we Humans are weak, we can only deal with you using strategies. We’re enemies on the battlefield, and both parties never hold back our powers when making a move.”
Ou Yang Lie secretly sent a voice transmission to Mi Jing Lun, “The Black Ink Clan knows how to flatter others as well?”
It wasn’t certain whether he was intentional, as it was a transmission could be heard within a certain range, so Hong Di and Nu Yi could clearly hear him as well. At that instant, they felt embarrassed.
Hong Di suppressed his anger and went on to say, “Although we’ve suffered immense losses, the same can be said for the Humans. Over the years, neither of the two Races has gained the upper hand. Now, we have Great Evolution Pass while you are lacking soldiers. I don’t think you have the power to conquer the Great Pass.”
Mi Jing Lun kept a smile on his face as he replied, “We’re still deliberating on whether we should attack the Great Pass. As for whether we’ll succeed, we’ll find out after we fight.”
Hong Di frowned, “Aren’t you worried that all of your soldiers will be wiped out if another battle breaks out?”
Swaying the feather fan, Mi Jing Lun replied with a smile, “All Humans, from the Fifth Order to the Seventh Order, do not fear death. It is the same for those of us in the Eighth Order. I’m sure that all of you became aware of our determination after the previous battle.”
Hong Di said grimly, “Although I did not personally experience that battle, I did hear about it after. The Human Race is indeed… determined.”
Mi Jing Lun kept the feather fan and said, “Let’s end the small talk here. You sent envoys to our side to ask for peace talks, so how do you want to discuss it? Are you here to talk about which side has the more fearless and heroic soldiers with this Mi?”
Hong Di refuted, “That’s certainly not what I want to talk about. Let us settle things here and now. We control Great Evolution Pass, while you Humans do not have enough manpower to conquer it. Fighting will only drain our strength and waste our time. Great Evolution Pass originally belonged to the Humans, and is irrelevant to the Black Ink Clan’s foundation. After a discussion with the other Territory Lords, we’ve decided to return Great Evolution Pass to the Humans. I’m not sure if you’re willing to accept it.”
Mi Jing Lun replied, “We’ve come all the way here to retrieve Great Evolution Pass. Since you’re willing to give it back to us, why would we not accept it?”
“Good,” Hong Di nodded faintly, “We can return Great Evolution Pass to the Humans, but it comes with conditions.”
Mi Jing Lun replied with a smile, “Nothing is free in this world; we’re fully aware of that. It’s understandable that you have some conditions. As for whether we’ll agree to it, that’s another thing.”
Hong Di continued, “The soldiers of the two Races are fortunate you are such a principled person.”
Ou Yang Lie pursed his lips, as though he was saying this Black Ink Clansman was buttering them up again.
Hong Di ignored him and got straight to the point, “Since the Black Ink Clan occupied Great Evolution Pass 30,000 years ago, we’ve spent a lot of time and effort fortifying it. Other than the various setups, the Black Ink Nest there alone is extremely valuable. If we leave, there’s no way we can keep the Black Ink Nest, so we expect those losses to be borne by the Humans. Therefore, we can give Great Evolution Pass back to you, but you must give us sufficient resources as compensation.”
Mi Jing Lun kept a smile on his face, “That’s understandable. Is there anything else?”
Hong Di was startled, as he had never expected this Human to be so approachable. He thought that the Humans would haggle over everything with him. Besides that, when they talked about where the peace talks should be held, the Black Ink Clan demanded that they take place just 1 million kilometres away from Great Evolution Pass, yet the Humans had directly agreed to it.
It seemed that this Eighth-Order Master was a straightforward person.
“Additionally, we were repeatedly intercepted by the Humans when we tried to leave the Great Pass in the past. We had no choice but to engage in life-or-death battles with you and eventually were forced to return to the Pass. In order to prevent this from happening again, we request your Army to withdraw a 10-day distance either to the left or right of Great Evolution Pass. Only then can we leave without any worries. What do you think?”
“A reasonable request,” Mi Jing Lun nodded, “Will you send some people to monitor us?”
Hong Di nodded, “Yes, I will.”
If they weren’t monitored, there was no guarantee that the Humans would stay 10 days distance from Great Evolution Pass. If the Humans blocked their way again, a battle would be inevitable.
“Do you have other conditions?” Mi Jing Lun asked with the same inscrutable smile on his lips.
Hong Di had no idea what other conditions he should come up with. Getting resources from the Humans was more like a way to show that the sacrifices of the Black Ink Clansmen who were killed in the battle were not in vain. Other than that, the Humans had to stay far away to ensure that the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t be ambushed. These two conditions were enough.
It was pointless to bring up other conditions. It wasn’t like they could tell the Humans to apologise for the death of the Black Ink Clan soldiers. The Humans would never agree to such a ridiculous demand.
As such, Hong Di shook his head and said, “If the Humans agree to these two conditions, we will return Great Evolution Pass to you.”
Mi Jing Lun put on a smile, “You’re a frank person as well. In that case, we should be straightforward with each other. Since you’ve mentioned the conditions you have, I’ll now talk about the conditions we Humans have.”
Hong Di frowned, “The Humans have some conditions?”
Mi Jing Lun said, “Since this is a negotiation, why can’t the Humans propose some conditions?”
Hong Di was rendered speechless, but reckoning that he should hear him out, he nodded, “In that case, please go ahead.”
After a nod, Mi Jing Lun waved his feather fan and said grimly, “The first condition is that the Black Ink Clan can leave Great Evolution Pass, but all the resources, including all fortifications and arrangements the Black Ink Clan has installed, must stay behind.”
Upon hearing that, Hong Di was infuriated, “You want us to leave all resources and equipment behind in Great Evolution Pass?”
He thought he had misheard him.
Then, he turned to look at Nu Yi, who appeared puzzled with a frown.
“Yes, everything.” Mi Jing Lun nodded. Regardless of whether the other party would agree to it, he pointed his feather fan at Great Evolution Pass and went on to say, “The second condition is that the Black Ink Nest in Great Evolution Pass has to stay. The Black Ink Clan cannot destroy it, nor can you bring it away.”
“Impossible!” Hong Di roared. The Black Ink Nest belonged to him, and he had personally hatched it. If it fell into the Humans’ hands, the transmission of information between the Black Ink Clan would be exposed to the Humans. Moreover, Humans had many strange and unusual methods, so he wasn’t certain if they could use this Black Ink Nest to harm him somehow. Therefore, he directly rejected the idea without even giving it a thought. Even if he couldn’t bring the Black Ink Nest away, he had to destroy it rather than allow the Humans to control it.
Mi Jing Lun ignored his outburst directly, and as the smile on his face faded, he looked Hong Di in the eye and declared solemnly, “The third condition is that all Black Ink Disciples must stay.”
This time, Hong Di didn’t explode, because when his fury crossed a critical point and he instead became calm. He stared at Mi Jing Lun with narrowed eyes and replied impassively, “It seems that you’re not really interested in holding peace talks with us.”
With a serious expression, Mi Jing Lun said, “We’re sincere; otherwise, we wouldn’t have come at all.”
Hong Di slowly shook his head, “But I don’t see any sincerity from you.”
“Letting the Black Ink Clan safely leave Great Evolution Pass is the biggest sincerity we can show.”
Hong Di furrowed his brows, “What do you mean by that?”
Mi Jing Lun replied with a smile, “Must I make it clear to you? Alright, I’ll do just that. Over the years, it was the North-South Army that has been fighting against you all. On the other hand, the East-West Army is responsible for destroying the Royal City. 10 days ago, in the battle outside the Royal City, the Black Ink Clan suffered a massive defeat. Many of your comrades were killed, and the Royal Lord has suffered grievous injuries. Now, the East-West Army is on its way here from the Royal City and will rendezvous with us within a month. When that time comes, we’ll have sufficient manpower and the Old Ancestor with us. So, how are you going to stop us even if you hole up inside Great Evolution Pass?”
Hong Di was flabbergasted, “Y-You know what had happened at the Royal City?”
He had never expected that the Humans were aware of what had happened at the Royal City. The reason he even came up with his two conditions was that he thought that the Humans were inferior to the Black Ink Clan when it came to the transmission of information. In truth, the Black Ink Clan would be considered lucky if they could safely leave Great Evolution Pass and return to the Royal City. By bringing up two conditions, Hong Di simply wanted to make the Black Ink Clan appear overbearing while it wouldn’t matter even if the Humans didn’t agree to them in the end.
Therefore, he was surprised to learn that the Humans had found out the outcome of the war.
[How did they find out about it? It would take a person at least a month to arrive at this place from the Royal City. The war at the Royal City only ended 10 days ago, so it was unlikely that the Humans in this place would learn about the outcome so soon!]
The only possibility is that the Humans had already expected the outcome of the war and sent someone to this place to inform the North-South Army about it in advance!
“Are you surprised, Sir Hong Di?” Mi Jing Lun smiled faintly.
Hong Di was a Territory Lord, after all, so after a momentary surprise, he came to his senses and snapped, “Why did you even agree to my conditions, then? Are you messing with me?”
Mi Jing Lun shook his head, “I did not agree to your conditions. I only said that you could bring up your conditions, and we would discuss it.”
Hong Di fell silent.
Without giving the other party time to ponder on it, Mi Jing Lun went on to say, “The East-West Army will arrive at this place in a month; however, we cannot rule out the possibility that the Old Ancestor might act on her own. In that case, she will reach this place from the Royal City within a few days. When that happens, none of you will be able to leave.”
Hong Di shivered at that moment, for the notion of the Old Ancestor coming to this place on her own never crossed his mind, so he quickly objected, “There’s no way your Old Ancestor is not injured after the fight with the Royal Lord. In that case, she has to be recuperating now. What is the point of you bluffing?”
Mi Jing Lun shook his head, “She’s not in a rush to recuperate as retaking Great Evolution Pass is more important. The Old Ancestor is unlike your Royal Lord who fears death. Every time a battle broke out, she always led the charge. So, if all of you want to safely leave Great Evolution Pass, you’d better do it quickly. Leaving within three days would be ideal; otherwise, you won’t be able to when the Old Ancestor arrives.”
Despite knowing that this Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master was trying to threaten him, Hong Di was still flustered, for if the Old Ancestor really came to this place on her own, the Black Ink Clan would be doomed.
Over the years, from the information they had gathered through the Black Ink Nests, the Old Ancestor was a woman who could hardly be said to be a reasonable and mild-tempered person.
After giving it a thought for a brief moment, Hong Di said, “We’ll agree to your first condition.”
The resources didn’t matter to them. As long as they could return to the Royal City, they could mine more; therefore, he directly agreed to it.
“Very good.”
“However, I’m afraid I can’t agree to the second and third conditions.”
Mi Jing Lun shot him a dispassionate glance, “If you don’t agree to it, we’ll have no choice but to fight.”
Hong Di grit his teeth, “If we fight, you two will definitely lose your lives.”
Mi Jing Lun replied impassively, “That’s fine. We won’t feel lonely with you two to keep us company on the way to the Yellow Springs.”
At this moment, Hong Di was regretful of the decision he had made before. He shouldn’t have tried to act brave by only bringing Nu Yi with him. Instead, he should have had all the Territory Lords come over. With more people on their side, they could join forces and defeat these two Humans.
Now, it was an embarrassing situation. If a fight broke out here, these two Eighth-Order Masters would undoubtedly die, but he and Nu Yi would probably lose their lives as well. The Eighth-Order Humans seemed to have grown a penchant for mutually assured destruction with Territory Lords.
Seeing that they had reached a deadlock, Nu Yi, who had remained silent all along, suddenly proposed, “Please calm yourselves. Since this is a negotiation, we should keep cool heads. What’s the point of confronting each other now? In my opinion, both of us should make a concession.”
Mi Jing Lun turned to look at her, “What kind of concession will you make?”
Nu Yi replied apologetically, “Please give me a moment, Sir.”
Saying so, she communicated with Hong Di using Divine Sense right in front of Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie.
A myriad of expressions came over Hong Di and a while later, he nodded with a gloomy expression. It was apparent that he was still unwilling, but had no other choice.
It was then that Nu Yi turned to look at Mi Jing Lun and forced a smile, “Sir Mi, I’ve discussed the matter with Sir Hong Di, and we’ve decided that we’ll agree to your second condition.”
“A wise decision,” Mi Jing Lun responded with a smile.
“We have shown our sincerity by agreeing to your third condition, so can you withdraw your third condition to show that you’re willing to make a concession as well? That way, we can reach a peaceful settlement without resorting to needless violence.”
Mi Jing Lun glanced at her with a smile, “You’ve agreed to one of our conditions, so we would appear unreasonable if we did not concede in return. There’s no reason for me to reject your proposal.”
Upon hearing that, Nu Yi was elated; however, before she could speak, Mi Jing Lun went on to say, “Good, since you have shown enough sincerity, we won’t be imperious. This Mi will withdraw our side’s second condition. You can do anything you want to the Black Ink Nest. I don’t care whether you’ll bring it away or destroy it. However, all the Black Ink Disciples have to stay. We will handle them.”
Nu Yi widened her eyes in disbelief as she was lost for words.
She had never expected that Mi Jing Lun would turn the tables on them in such a way by withdrawing the second condition but forcing them to accept the third one.
Beside her, Hong Di sported a dark expression.
Leaving the Black Ink Nest here didn’t really matter, they just had to inform the Royal Lord about it and let the latter use his High-Rank Black Ink Nest to cut off the connection with the Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest in Great Evolution Pass, thus ensuring that the exchange of information between the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t be exposed to the Humans.
As for whether the Humans would make use of this Black Ink Nest and cast a Secret Technique to target Hong Di, that could be dealt with in the future. Furthermore, it was unlikely to happen.
However, they couldn’t leave all the Black Ink Disciples here.
Although there were still a lot of Black Ink Clan soldiers in Great Evolution Pass, there were not many powerful ones. In the previous war, a large number of Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples had lost their lives.
If they wanted to leave Great Evolution Pass and return to the Royal City, the power of the Black Ink Disciples would be indispensable. If they left the Black Ink Disciples to the Humans, no one could guarantee that the Humans wouldn’t develop any ill intentions. In that case, how were the Black Ink Clansmen supposed to ward them off?
This was no different from digging their own grave.
The Black Ink Clan wasn’t foolish, so they wouldn’t agree to such a demand. It could be said that the Black Ink Disciples were their bottom line, and they wouldn’t give them to the Humans.
Seeing that Hong Di and Nu Yi fell silent, as though the discussion was about to fall apart, Mi Jing Lun put on a smile, “Do you need to deliberate on it for a moment?”
Nu Yi forced a smile, “Please give us a moment, Sir Mi.”
They then communicated with each other using their Divine Senses again.
It was obvious that Hong Di was furious while Nu Yi appeared concerned.
The discussion didn’t yield any meaningful results. An impatient Ou Yang Lie darted his gaze back and forth between Hong Di and Nu Yu, as though he was thinking about which parts of their bodies he should cut first.
The silent pressure caused these Territory Lords to feel flustered.
This red-haired man was the one who killed Zhe Chong. Given such a short distance between them, they didn’t have the confidence to repel him if he suddenly flared up.
On the other hand, Mi Jing Lun, who was the one who did all of the talking, appeared calm and collected, as though he wouldn’t feel bored even if he had to wait for 100 years.
Certainly, the two Territory Lords wouldn’t let him wait for 100 years, for they were in a hurry while the Humans were not. After all, no one could guarantee that the Old Ancestor wouldn’t come here on her own. If she wanted to, the Old Ancestor would only take her a few days to arrive at this place from the Royal City; hence, the Black Ink Clan had to quickly come up with a solution and leave.
A moment later, they finally made a decision. Again, it was Nu Yi who spoke, “I’m sorry for making you wait.”
Mi Jing Lun asked with a smile, “Have you made a decision?”
Nu Yi nodded, “Just like what I’ve said, we’ll agree to the second condition to show that we’re willing to make a concession. As for the third condition, we can only agree to half of it.”
“What do you mean?” Mi Jing Lun arched his brow.
“Now, we’re only left with Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples. There are quite a number of Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples, but there are only a dozen or so Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples,” Nu Yi explained, “We can give all the Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples to the Humans, but Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples must remain with us.”
After a pause, she put on a bitter smile, “Including the second condition, we’ve made a massive concession. If you still refuse to agree to it, then this discussion will end here.”
Mi Jing Lun fell silent.
He was fully aware of why the Black Ink Clan was unwilling to hand over the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples. Now, there were not a lot of powerful Masters in the Black Ink Clan, so they had to rely on the protection of those Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples on their way to the Royal City. If they gave the Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples to the Humans, they would lose a sense of security. How were they supposed to fend off the Humans if the latter decided to renege on the agreement and attacked them?
In fact, even though Mi Jing Lun had come up with such a condition, he had never expected the Black Ink Clan to agree to it. It was really just his way of testing the waters as he knew there was no way the Black Ink Clan would agree to it.
If he kept on pushing the Black Ink Clan, things would only get worse.
Therefore, after a moment of deliberation, he nodded, “This Mi can see your sincerity. In that case, it’s decided.”
Seeing that he had agreed to it, Hong Di and Nu Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Of these two Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, even though this red-haired man, who had remained silent all along, appeared condescending and ferocious, the pressure he gave off was not as great as that of this seemingly mild-tempered man.
He could easily manipulate them into giving in to his demands with his words alone. It wasn’t just about cultivation, it seemed he was well-versed in the art of persuasion.
After the discussion ended, Mi Jing Lun asked, “When will the Black Ink Clan leave?”
Nu Yi remained silent and turned to look at the man beside her.
Hong Di replied, “We need some time to organise our troops. We’ll leave Great Evolution Pass in two to three days.”
They wouldn’t dare to stay for long.
Mi Jing Lun nodded, “In that case, this Mi will order our soldiers to withdraw. When the time comes, we’ll make sure not to get in the way of your return to the Royal City. Do you need to send some people to monitor us?”
“I’ll make the arrangements, so you don’t have to worry about it, Sir Mi,” Hong Di said impassively. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, then he continued, “Great Evolution Pass used to belong to the Humans, and you lost it 30,000 years ago. Since both of you are here, why don’t you come have a look inside the Great Pass?”
There was no doubt that he was ill-intentioned when he came up with such a suggestion at this point. That was mainly because he was unresigned at the fact that he had been suppressed by Mi Jing Lun’s words since the start of the negotiation.
He did not intend to harm Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie; after all, an agreement had already been reached. As long as both parties restrained themselves, the Black Ink Clan would safely leave this place and the Humans would retrieve Great Evolution Pass without having to fight. It was a win-win situation while another conflict would do both sides no good.
The suggestion was meant to help him vent his anger. If the two Humans did not have the guts to enter Great Evolution Pass, it would show that they were timid. Even if they had the audacity to visit Great Evolution Pass, they would appear nervous and embarrass themselves.
Surprisingly, Mi Jing Lun appeared elated upon hearing the suggestion, “An excellent suggestion. I’ve always wanted to have a look inside.”
Hong Di was dumbfounded.
[He readily agreed to it?]
As a Territory Lord, since he had already spoken, he could only invite them to visit Great Evolution Pass. Composing himself, he guffawed and replied, “You’re indeed a straightforward person, Sir Mi.”
Mi Jing Lun said, “We’ll have a look at the setups in Great Evolution Pass and count the number of Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples. When you leave, I hope that everything inside Great Evolution Pass will remain intact, and all the Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples will remain.”
“Of course, of course,” Hong Di felt bitter in his heart, but he was unable to do anything about it.
On the wall of Great Evolution Pass, the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples were shocked to see that after a long discussion, Hong Di, Nu Yi, and the two Eighth-Order Masters were now returning to Great Evolution Pass together while having a seemingly pleasant chat.
[What’s going on?]
The Territory Lords were astounded.
A peace talk between the two Races was unprecedented, so they had practically made history today, but how did that lead to these four now having a casual conversation?
If not for the fact that Eighth-Order Masters wouldn’t be corrupted by Black Ink Strength so soon, the Territory Lords would’ve thought that the two Humans had been turned into Black Ink Disciples.
It only took them a short moment to move across the million kilometres distance.
Hong Di specifically brought Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie to the place where the Territory Lords and Eighth-Order Black Ink Disciples gathered together. He then introduced them to the Territory Lords, “They are the Army Commanders of the Human Race Army, Sir Mi and Sir Ou Yang. I’m sure you’re aware of how powerful they are after years of clashes with the Humans.”
The Territory Lords remained silent as they stared at Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie and mounted pressure on them.
Mi Jing Lun just replied with a smile, “It is my honour to see so many powerful members of the Black Ink Clan.”
Ou Yang Lie was not so polite as he swept a glance over the vital parts of these Territory Lords, which left the latter somewhat vexed.
Oblivious to their fury, Ou Yang Lie continued staring at them.
The two of them were on their own in a place where all the powerful Black Ink Clansmen had gathered together. One of them was calm and collected while the other was bold and fearless. Hong Di reckoned that he was no match for these two when it came to composure. No Territory Lord could act the way these two Humans did if they were in their shoes.
Hong Di felt disappointed as he had failed in his attempt to frighten the two Humans. He then said to the Territory Lords, “These Sirs have come all the way here to take a stroll around Great Evolution Pass. Just attend to your own matters. I’ll keep them company.”
It was only then that the Territory Lords left.
After they were gone, Hong Di asked, “Where do you want to look, Sir Mi? Although we, the Black Ink Clan, have only been in charge of this place for 30,000 years. We’re more familiar with Great Evolution Pass now than the Humans.”
Mi Jing Lun replied with a smile, “Many thanks for taking good care of this place, Sir Hong Di. Let’s just look around.”
Hong Di extended his hand, “In that case, this way please.”
On the wall, Hong Di and Mi Jing Lun shuffled forward alongside one another. Ou Yang Lie and Nu Yi followed closely behind them. Nu Yi wouldn’t dare to get close to Ou Yang Lie, so she deliberately walked behind him, which unintentionally made it look as though she was his maidservant.
A moment later, Hong Di regretted the fact that he had invited these two to visit Great Evolution Pass on a whim.
That was mainly because Mi Jing Lun started criticizing the arrays and artifacts on the walls. As an experienced Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Master and a former Army Commander of a Great Pass, Mi Jing Lun was familiar with the standard arrangements of a Great Pass.
The setups in a Human Great Pass could be said to be interlocked with one another in a meticulous manner, thus ensuring that they would work efficiently when the Humans fought against the enemies.
Although the Black Ink Clan had been managing Great Evolution Pass for 30,000 years, their setups were a mess. They looked well constructed, but only 50% of their power could probably be unleashed.
If a Human Great Pass was set up in such a way, it would’ve been conquered by the Black Ink Clan a long time ago.
It wasn’t like there was anything Hong Di could do about it. The Black Ink Clan lacked special talents like Array Masters and Artifact Refiners, so they couldn’t arrange exquisite and powerful arrays and artifacts like those in a Human Great Pass.
Even though they had imitated the previous setups in Great Evolution Pass, it was not as good as what the Humans could do. They were unable to make this Pass as sturdy as the Humans could.
Hong Di then led Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie to leap off the wall and walk around the Inner Sanctum.
Mi Jing Lun directly activated his Divine Sense and scanned the surroundings in an attempt to examine the setups in the Inner Sanctum and count the number of Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples.
Hong Di didn’t mind this. Since it had been agreed upon, he’d rather Mi Jing Lun act openly than secretly.
Soon, they arrived at the centre of the Inner Sanctum where there was a square that served as a military drill ground in Great Evolution Pass.
Every Great Pass had its own military drill ground that was quite vast. On special occasions, it could accommodate several tens of thousands of Open Heaven Realm Masters.
The Territory Lord Black Ink Nest was located in this square, and in front of the gigantic Black Ink Nest was a huge jade monument.
Due to the ambient Black Ink Strength, the air inside Great Evolution Pass was tainted with darkness. In this dark world, this bit of white light stood out and captured one’s attention.
Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie stopped in their tracks as they gazed at the huge jade monument.
It was the Monument of Heroes!
There was a Monument of Heroes in the military drill ground of every Human Great Pass. There were no words on the monument, but if one infused their Divine Sense into it, they could see countless names which had been engraved within.
Those were the names of the soldiers who had fallen in the war against the Black Ink Clan in the Theatre of their respective Great Pass.
The two Army Commanders immediately turned solemn.
To the side, Hong Di stared at the Monument of Heroes and said, “After we occupied Great Evolution Pass, we made many new arrangements and changes; however, I decided to keep this monument and have been controlling the Black Ink Nest’s power so that it won’t be affected by Black Ink Strength. Although our two Races are arch enemies that have fought for countless years, we still admire the fearlessness and bravery of the Humans. This monument serves as the reminder to us that the Humans are strong and unyielding. Unfortunately, after 30,000 years of peace, we seem to have lost the instinct and courage to fight against the Humans.”
He let out a sigh, which showed how helpless he felt after losing the war.
In front of the monument, Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie bent their backs with solemn expressions.
There were innumerable names recorded in the jade monument, names of the Seniors who were killed during the long war against the Black Ink Clan in the Great Evolution Theatre.
A moment later, they straightened their backs and turned to Hong Di before saluting him. Even Ou Yang Lie, who clearly held malicious intentions towards Hong Di, did not hesitate.
Hong Di was astounded and asked, “What are you doing?”
With a serious expression, Mi Jing Lun replied, “We have to thank you for keeping this Monument of Heroes.”
A surprised Hong Di said, “I just wanted to motivate the Black Ink Clan. I didn’t keep it for you Humans.”
Mi Jing Lun replied, “That’s good enough.”
Those soldiers had lost their lives and most did not leave anything behind when they fell. Perhaps there was no one alive who could remember their faces any longer, so it would be miserable if their names were forgotten forever.
With the Monument of Heroes intact, at least their names remained. At the very least, 30,000 years after they passed away, there were these two Humans who became aware of their existence and contributions in the Great Evolution Theatre.
After Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie were done going through the names in the Monument of Heroes, they lost the interest to keep strolling around; therefore, they bid Hong Di farewell. Certainly, Hong Di wouldn’t make them stay as he saw them off.
In front of Great Evolution Pass, Mi Jing Lun said, “Sir Hong Di, please organize your soldiers with peace of mind. When this Mi returns, I’ll order the Human soldiers to move further away and to the left of Great Evolution Pass so that you’ll be able to head to the Royal City without interference. I’ll also ensure that there won’t be any traps on the way to your destination.”
He was totally sincere when he spoke. Hong Di believed that Mi Jing Lun’s attitude must have something to do with the Monument of Heroes.
After watching these two Eighth-Oder Masters leave, Hong Di returned to Great Evolution Pass and started organizing the soldiers for the evacuation.
The Black Ink Clan’s scouts scanned the surroundings and confirmed that the Humans had indeed moved further away from the forward base and to its left. There were no more obstacles in the way to the Royal City.
The scouts did not immediately return and instead followed the Humans from a distance. Although Mi Jing Lun assured Hong Di that they wouldn’t do anything shady, the Black Ink Clan wouldn’t readily believe them. With the scouts following behind the Humans, they could instantly discover if the Humans were up to something and quickly relay the news back to Great Evolution Pass.
However, the Humans did not do anything unusual as they withdrew from Great Evolution Pass.
After two days of reorganisation, the surviving Black Ink Clansmen left Great Evolution Pass in a hurry. They first rapidly moved in the Royal City’s direction for two days, then turned right to make a wide detour.
They wouldn’t dare to keep moving in a straight line, for they knew the East-West Army was approaching from the Royal City. If they didn’t make a detour, they would run into the East-West Army where the Human Old Ancestor was. The Black Ink Clan Army was unable to oppose such a force at this time, so they had to circumvent the Human soldiers.
Only by doing so could they ensure their safety.
According to the agreement with the Black Ink Clan, the North-South Army moved to a place that was 10 days’ travel from Great Evolution Pass; then, without stopping to rest, they headed straight back to Great Evolution Pass.
10 days later, they arrived.
A myriad of emotions came over these soldiers as they looked at this Great Pass their Seniors had lost 30,000 years ago.
At that time, Great Evolution Pass was conquered by the Black Ink Clan, and from the Old Ancestor to the common soldiers, all were killed except for those who were corrupted by Black Ink Strength.
This was a wound the Humans could never forget. Usually, no one would bring this up; therefore, those who were new to the Black Ink Battlefield like Yang Kai did not know that there was a Human Great Pass that had been conquered before. He actually learned about it from a Territory Lord.
On this day, the Humans finally retook Great Evolution Pass.
The North-South Army had paid a huge price for this victory, but it was all worth it in the end.
No one could guarantee that the Black Ink Clan hadn’t left behind any traps; therefore, the Humans didn’t immediately surge into the Great Pass. Instead, they sent scouts in to investigate.
Soon, they learned that there was nothing unusual in the Inner Sanctum. Not only was everything intact, but all the Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples had remained in the military drill ground.
It seemed that the Black Ink Clan had kept their promise. In fact, they wouldn’t dare to go back on their word. The North-South and East-West Armies, one behind and one in front of them, posed a deadly threat. The Black Ink Clan could only hope that the Humans wouldn’t go back on their word, so how could they dare to pull any tricks?
The Human soldiers then entered Great Evolution Pass.
The first thing they had to do was deal with the Black Ink Nest.
This thing was constantly breathing out Black Ink Strength that permeated the entire Great Evolution Pass, which made the place look quite eerie. Unless they removed the Black Ink Nest, Great Evolution Pass would never be restored to its original glory, and the Human soldiers could never live here safely.
Certainly, they wouldn’t destroy the Black Ink Nest; otherwise, Mi Jing Lun wouldn’t have told the Black Ink Clan to leave it intact.
Although the Black Ink Nest belonged to the Black Ink Clan, it was a great tool for transmitting information. If the Humans could make use of it, it would be immensely useful for the future crusade.
Therefore, this Mid-Rank Black Ink Nest was a treasure to the Humans.
Fortunately, Great Evolution Pass was actually an enormous Mobile Palace Artifact, so although the Black Ink Nest had been around for several tens of thousands of years, it couldn’t really take root in Great Evolution Pass. If it was like other Black Ink Nests that infiltrated and merged with the Universe World it was planted on, they would have no choice but to destroy it.
Mi Jing Lun and the others expended a lot of energy removing the Black Ink Nest from Great Evolution Pass and settling it down on the universe fragment where the forward base was previously located.
As for what they would do with it, they had to meet up with the East-West Army and discuss it with the Old Ancestor.
For now, a few Squads were left to monitor the Black Ink Nest.
There were quite a number of Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples who were left behind by the Territory Lords, adding up to about 100 in total. There were initially many more Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples, but every time they clashed with the Humans over the years, many of them would lose their lives. 100 years later, these people were the only ones left.
None of them had left Great Evolution Pass with the Black Ink Clan. Previously, Mi Jing Lun strolled around Great Evolution Pass with Hong Di leading the way. Just like what he had said, he counted the total number of Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples. Now, all of them were accounted for in this place.
It seemed that Hong Di was worried these Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples would cause trouble for the Humans, so he sealed their cultivations before he left.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have obediently stayed in the military drill ground. They would have run away before the Humans entered the Great Pass.
It was equally difficult to handle these Seventh-Order Black Ink Disciples. Mi Jing Lun told some people to watch over them while the Old Ancestor would have to make a decision about their fate when she arrived.
In short, the Human soldiers were swamped with work.
Even though the Black Ink Nest had been taken away by the Eighth-Order Open Heaven Realm Masters, the entire Great Evolution Pass was still filled with Black Ink Strength. The soldiers first had to do their best to remove the Black Ink Strength from the Inner Sanctum.
Fortunately, they were experienced when it came to such matters. In the past, whenever they were done battling against the Black Ink Clan and had to clean up the battlefield, disposing of Black Ink Strength and Black Ink Clouds was a normal part of their work.
Black Ink Clouds provided the best environment for the Black Ink Clan to fight in, but they were only a hazardous obstacle to the Humans. If they never removed them, every Great Pass would be surrounded by thick Black Ink Clouds by now.
For this reason, the Humans had specifically developed an artifact that looked like a fishing net that had no use other than to collect Black Ink Strength like schools of fish. The Black Ink Strength would then be discarded somewhere in the depths of the void.
After 10 days of hard work, the North-South army managed to get rid of almost all of the Black Ink Strength in Great Evolution Pass.
Right then, a scout came over and reported that the East-West Army would be arriving at Great Evolution Pass within a day.
It had been about a month since the East-West Army departed from the Royal City, so it was to be expected that they would arrive around now.
Mi Jing Lun and Ou Yang Lie led the other Eighth-Order Division Commanders to personally greet the East-West Army.
Ou Yang Lie felt a little disgruntled about all of this. It was as though the East-West Army had spent many years fighting against the enemy while the North-South Army had been standing idly by in their homes. In fact, it had been tough for the North-South Army over the years.
However, considering the fact that the Old Ancestor was also coming, Ou Yang Lie had no choice but to tag along.
From afar, they could see the East-West Army’s Warships sailing over, but after a brief count of these Warships, Mi Jing Lun and the others let out a sigh.
The number of Warships suggested that the East-West Army had suffered immense losses over the years.
When the Warships were close enough, they all turned to the Purifying Black Ink Battleship and made their salutations, “Greetings, Old Ancestor!”
However, no one responded to them.
Several figures leaped off the Purifying Black Ink Battleship. They were Xiang Shan, Liu Zhi Ping, and the other leaders of the East-West Army.
They saluted each other. Many of them had never met one another before, even though they were aware of who the other party was. Since they finally met up this time, they promptly engaged in a small talk.
After they were done with the small talk, Mi Jing Lun asked curiously, “Where is the Old Ancestor?”
An embarrassed Xiang Shan scratched his cheek and replied, “I have no idea.”
Mi Jing Lun was astounded, “You don’t know?”
[How could that be? The Old Ancestor was supposed to be with the East-West Army. How is it possible that they have no idea where she is?]
“Please give me a moment, Brother Mi. I’ve told someone to come over. Perhaps he knows where the Old Ancestor is,” Xiang Shan said.
On the side, Liu Zhi Ping put on a helpless smile, “In fact, we don’t even know when the Old Ancestor disappeared. We thought that she had tagged along with the Army, but it wasn’t until just now that we realised she wasn’t with us.”
This was truly embarrassing.